Blind Love
by NothingProfound
Summary: It finally happened, Jack O'Neill's luck ran out. His teammates and friends mourn his death, until Jacob brings some good news. As Sam comes to grips with her feelings for Jack, Jack has some other things to deal with.
1. Prologue

**Title: Blind Love  
Rating: PG****  
Genre: Romance, Angst, Tragedy  
****Season: 7, anytime before Heroes  
Spoiler: Divide and Conquer, Nemesis, Meridian, Full Circle, Fallen  
Pairing: Sam/Jack, slight Daniel/Janet  
Content Warning: violence, character death****  
Disclaimer: I don't own any publicly recognizable characters or Stargate SG-1****

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Prologue

The control room was busy as SG-3 prepared to embark on a mission to P9J-467. General George Hammond looked out the large window down into the gate room. He stood behind Sergeant Davis as the gate technician reported the locking of the chevrons.

"Chevron five, encoded." The inner ring of the massive Stargate continued to rotate, then suddenly all seven chevrons lit up and a wormhole was established. "Incoming traveler!" Sergeant Davis announced, as alarms sounded throughout the base.

"Close the iris," Hammond ordered.

"Receiving an IDC…It's SG-1, Sir."

"Open the iris. They aren't scheduled to return for another 5 hours. Medical team to the gate room!"

His order was relayed on the PA system, the iris retracted and after a few seconds, Daniel Jackson emerged from the Stargate event horizon stumbling a little. When he reached the end of the ramp, he turned and stared at the shimmering blue pool. Then Teal'c emerged at a run, followed by Major Samantha Carter who dove through the Stargate, hit the ramp rolling, and came to a stop lying flat on her back at the bottom.

The other occupants of the two rooms waited anxiously for the fourth member of the team, Colonel Jack O'Neill, but he never appeared. The wormhole deactivated and Daniel dropped to his knees still staring at the inactive Stargate.

"Stand down. SG-1, where's Colonel O'Neill?" The only answer Hammond received was a muffled sob from Sam as she pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her arms.

Suddenly, Dr. Janet Fraiser burst from the large door at the far end of the room, followed closely by a medical team.

Entering the room, General Hammond moved to stand before the distraught team. "Where's Colonel O'Neill?" he asked again.

"O'Neill did not come through with us." Teal'c spoke from where he stood behind Daniel, the Jaffa's usually stoic expression uncommonly strained; his eyes echoed the pain he must have been feeling, but his voice did not falter. "He was struck down by a staff blast…He is dead."

* * *

"They're all in perfect physical condition, Sir, but the colonel's death has hit them hard," Janet told General Hammond as they stood at the far end of the infirmary, so as not to be heard by the distraught team. "They're all in post-traumatic shock. Major Carter hasn't stopped crying since they arrived. Teal'c seems to be holding up, but Dr. Jackson…. He hasn't said a word since they came through the 'gate."

From where they stood, they could see the remaining members of SG-1. Sam was sitting on one of the beds; her knees pulled up to her chest. Daniel was sitting next to her, his arms wrapped around her tightly as they both rocked back and forth slightly. Teal'c sat on a near by bed seemingly as impassive as ever, but to those that knew him well, he looked as if it was all he could do to hold back his emotions. The whole thing was a sad sight and it brought tears to both Hammond's and Janet's eyes.

"I'm going to have to sedate them so they can get some rest. I recommend the debriefing be postponed at least until they wake up, though it shouldn't be delayed for too long," Janet told him.

"Very well. Send them in when you think they're ready."

"Yes, Sir."

After he left, Janet had a nurse prepare the sedatives.

"Teal'c?" She waited until she had his attention before she continued, "It's imperative that you perform Kelno'reem. I'm going to give you a sedative. It won't have much effect on you because of your Goold larva, but it will help you relax."

"I do not believe I will be able to perform Kelno'reem, at this time, Doctor Fraiser, but I will attempt it without a sedative," Teal'c said, rather sternly.

"Alright, you're free to go. Tell me if you change your mind." He gave her a bow and she moved over to Sam and Daniel. "Daniel?" He looked at her, his expression blank, but didn't respond. "Sam?" The astrophysicist didn't move, but continued to sob. "Sam, I'm going to give you a mild sedative so you can rest, alright? You too, Daniel."

"I…I don't need one," Sam murmured, her voice muffled and faltering.

"Sam, I know all this is hard for you, but a sedative will help," Janet told her, speaking gently. Taking her arm, Janet injected her with the sedative before she could respond. Sniffling, Sam let Janet lay her back on the pillow. Daniel allowed the doctor to push him gently out of the way, before she tucked Sam in.

Then Janet turned to Daniel. "Daniel, I'm going to sedate you, too. Alright?" There was still no response from the archaeologist. "Daniel, talk to me!" She said placing both hands on his arms. He looked at her again and this time there was recognition in his blue eyes.

He seemed to notice her for the first time. "Janet?"

"Yes, Daniel. Now, lie down and rest, okay?"

He nodded, "Okay." His brow furrowed. "Sam?"

"She's fine. Don't worry about her, she'll be fine," Janet said as she injected him. He winced and looked at her, confused. "It's a sedative, don't worry," she assured him. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he could get it out, his eyes closed and he was soon fast asleep.

* * *

"_Colonel!" Sam's cry cut through the silence around him and was followed by other echoes of the past._

"_Jack!" Daniel called to him._

"_O'Neill!" Teal'c's voice was as strong as ever._

_The calls of Daniel and Teal'c, and the sound of the Jaffa staff blasts were joined with Sam's last anxious "Colonel, no!"—creating a roar that filled his ears and pounded into his head._

_Then an ache filled his chest as he relived that fatal blast, the shot that ended it all. Before the darkness claimed him, one voice broke through the roar; one scream so filled with despair that the pain was doubled as it tore his heart out. "Jack!" Sam's voice faded into the roar and he knew this was the end._

_

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_Author's Note: Please read and review. Chapter One will be up momentarily. 


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

**Five hours earlier  
**Daniel stared in awe at the ruined village before him. Massive column drums riddled the area; the remnants of what were once buildings.

"This is amazing!" he told his companions, "This is the ruin of a village that could have been taken straight from Greece. These columns are exactly like the ones found at the ruins of the Olympieion."

"That's great, Daniel," Jack replied dryly. "Just don't wander off too far. And don't _touch_ anything."

"Jack, I'm an archaeologist. It's kind of what I _do_."

"Well, just do what you…do, _carefully_."

Sam tried not to smile from where she was crouched taking soil samples a few feet away from the colonel.

"Carter, Teal'c and I are gonna take a look at the perimeter. Keep an eye on the Daniel," Jack said, gesturing to the errant scientist, after crossing the distance to stand just above her.

"Yes, Sir."

About an hour later, Sam's radio crackled to life with the colonel's voice: _"Carter? This is O'Neill."_

"Go ahead, Sir," She replied. She was standing in the center of the village. Daniel was a few feet away filming the inscription on one of the buildings.

"_We ran into a two-man Jaffa patrol. Apparently, this planet's not as uninhabited as we thought. We took them down, but we've spotted another group headed your way. Our ETA is 2 minutes. Have Danny pack up and head back to the 'gate, we'll meet you halfway."_

"Understood, Sir."

"_O'Neill, out,"_ Jack said, ending the conversation.

* * *

It took Daniel less than a minute to get his things together after Sam told him a group of Jaffa were heading they're way. They were just setting out toward the Stargate, when Jack and Teal'c emerged from the ruin of a large building to their left.

"Heard from our friends?" Jack asked, referring to the expected Jaffa.

"No, Sir," Sam replied.

"Good. Teal'c, take point. Let's move out."

Teal'c moved forward, his staff weapon extended in front of him as he made his way toward the Stargate. Sam came next, her P-90 ready, followed by Daniel, whose weapon remained in its holster. Jack took up the rear.

Jack thought he heard something and, turning around, paused to listen. A light breeze swept through the stone ruins, causing a few pebbles to dislodge from a pile of debris and bringing Jack's sharp eyes on them. The only other sound was the footsteps of his teammates behind him.

An almost inaudible roar began, so quiet at first Jack thought it was the wind. It grew slowly louder and more familiar.

Glancing up at the sky, Jack called to his team, "Anybody else hear that?"

When no answer came, he glanced back at them. They stood about ten feet away, listening. As Jack looked around again, Daniel answered, "That…That sounds like a…"

Jack knew exactly what Daniel was going to say; he was thinking it himself. Then he spotted the source of the noise, headed straight for them. "Death Glider!" Jack exclaimed, effectively finishing Daniel's sentence. "Cover up!"

Jack ducked behind a stone building for cover and glanced back in time to see his team disappearing behind another building, effectively putting another three feet between them. "Dang!" Jack muttered. One of the worst things you can do in a combat situation is separate yourself from your team. If those Jaffa were to show up, he would be essentially on his own.

The death glider swooped down on them, riddling the ground with energy blasts, causing the buildings to shake and pieces of them to break off. Jack crouched as close to the building and the ground as he could as chucks of rock fell around him, sending dust and smaller rocks into the air.

Jack coughed as the dust began to clear and looked back at his team. The glider was just passing them, causing similar damage to their chosen building. "Everybody alright?" Jack called into his radio.

"_We're…fine,"_ Daniel's voice replied, _"A little bruised, but fine."_

Jack was about to step out from behind his building when Teal'c called to him, _"O'Neill!"_

"Oh, for crying out loud! Now what?" Jack muttered. He stuck his head and weapon around the corner and his question was answered. There were at least twenty Jaffa marching toward them. Jack pulled back as a staff blast whizzed past. The Jaffa must have snuck up on them while the Death Glider was attacking. The entire Jaffa army opened fire, and SG-1 followed suit.

The resulting roar of weapons fire kept Jack from hearing the Jaffa warrior coming around the other side of the building, until the Jaffa's staff weapon fired. Jack turned toward the sound, instinctively dropping into a crouch and swinging his weapon around. The energy blast hit him in the shoulder, throwing him to the ground. Jack gritted his teeth against the fiery pain that erupted in his shoulder. He had to get up—had to shoot the Jaffa or he was dead.

* * *

Sam saw Colonel O'Neill fall. "Colonel!" she exclaimed.

"Jack!" Daniel's voice was filled with as much worry as Sam felt.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c voice rang out the clearest.

Jumping up from behind the broken wall she was using as cover, Sam pulled the trigger on her P-90 rifle as she moved sideways toward the colonel.

"Major Carter!" Teal'c called to her, but she ignored him. The colonel needed her help and she was going to help him.

Teal'c went after Sam and Daniel followed him. With Teal'c and Daniel covering her, she directed her fire at the Jaffa bearing down on her colonel. She riddled the metal armor of his attacker with bullets, until one penetrated and the assailant fell.

The Jaffa still bearing down on them from behind Jack's wall seemed to multiply and the energy blasts ripping through the air came more frequently. Sam and her other two teammates dropped to their stomachs, still ten feet from their commanding officer. They couldn't have made it back to their shelter.

The colonel pulled himself up to sit with his back against the wall, clutching his wounded arm.

* * *

Jack forced his mind to think despite the mind-numbing pain in his shoulder. His team was in a vulnerable position; they were pinned down and would soon be overwhelmed by the Jaffa forces. He was stuck. There was no way he could make it to them. There was only one thing to do.

Replacing the clip in his P-90, Jack reached for his radio. "Carter, Teal'c, Daniel, head back to the 'gate." He said it with all the force he could muster, but he knew it was going to take some persuading to convince his team to do the one thing he was always refusing to do: leave a teammate behind.

"_Colonel, we can't; we're pinned down," _Sam's voice came back. For a minute, Jack shut his eyes. He knew this would be the last conversation he would have with her; the last time he would hear her voice.

"I'll take care of it. When I do, get the heck out of here. That's an order, Major." His words were harsh, but his tone was quiet, regretful. He looked at her and she looked back at him. Despite the distance, he hoped she could read the regret in his eyes.

He looked back around the corner at the wall of Jaffa looming in the distance. He looked first at Sam, then Daniel. The archaeologist was staring at him with something akin to horror on his face. _"Jack…"_ Daniel shook his head.

Finally, he looked at Teal'c, who seemed to accept his decision. He was the only one who really understood it.

Jack checked his weapon, and looked at Sam again.

"_Colonel, no!"_ she pleaded with him.

"I'm sorry, Sam." He spoke softly into his radio, hoping she understood how much she meant to him. He wanted to say more, but he had to go now before his courage failed him. Jumping up, he ran out in front of the Jaffa, weapon blazing.

* * *

Time seemed to slow down, Sam watched in horror as Jack threw his life away for them—for her.

The colonel seemed to be holding his own, but she knew it couldn't last—and she couldn't help him. There was nothing she could do to stop the oncoming Jaffa from overwhelming him, but she wouldn't leave him behind.

The staff blast, that they had all known was coming, hit Jack, sending him flying onto his back, a bloody, burned wound in the center of his chest—a wound he couldn't possibly survive. Sam felt like her heart was being torn out and she screamed his name, "Jack!"

"We must return to the Stargate!" Teal'c ordered his teammates, realizing that they needed to make use of the tumult Jack had created.

"No, we can't leave him," Sam muttered, more to herself than to her companions.

"Daniel Jackson." Teal'c gave Daniel a significant look. Daniel looked back at the body of his friend and nodded. Teal'c and Daniel started to back up toward the Stargate.

"Sam! We need to go!" Daniel called to her.

"No!" She looked about ready to take on the entire army of Jaffa.

"Sam, please! There's nothing we can do!"

Sam knew he was right. With one last look at Jack's body, she turned and ran for the cover of the wall they had been using before. Teal'c and Daniel joined her and from there they ran to the Stargate, using the ruined village for cover.

* * *

Author's Note: This story is completed on my computer. I'll put it up as I get around to it. Of course, reviews causeadrenaline rushes that would lead me to post faster...What does everyone think so far? 


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

The debriefing had been two agonizing hours of answering General Hammond's questions and reliving Jack's death. By then the shock had worn off.

Sam was lying on her bed in the temporary quarters she had to stay in while Janet wanted to keep them on base. She felt numb and alone. The events leading up to Jack's death kept playing over and over in her mind. She tried to think of some way she could have prevented it—some way she could have saved him. She always managed to stop the reminiscence right before he died.

Feeling restless and knowing that, if she didn't do something, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from replaying his death, she got up and started to wander the halls in the general direction of the elevator.

Why did she feel this way? She had always known it would hurt if the colonel ever died, but she hadn't known it would be this bad. She missed him, terribly. She half expected him to come around the corner, a grin on his face, and ask her to go fishing with him. If he did, she would probably reply, "Ya, sure, you betcha, Snookums," and kiss him, court-martial or not.

She swiped at the tears that had managed to escape her eyes. So that was that, she was in love with him; it was the only answer. She had known it for a long time, maybe even since she had first met her brown-eyed, smart-aleck colonel, but she had never been able to admit it—even to herself. She was in love with him and now he was gone.

Leaning against the wall for support, she broke down. Sobbing uncontrollably, she slid down to the floor and buried her face in her hands.

If only Jack would find her here, take her in his arms and tell her that everything was all right—that he was alive.

* * *

"_Jack!" Sam's scream echoed through his mind again. His heart was aching at the thought of leaving her—of leaving her without telling her how he felt. The ghost pain of the wound that had ended his life throbbed in his chest again. This time, the darkness that followed didn't last._

"_Tau'ri, I have revived you. I am Atê__. Bow before your goddess!" a Goa'uld voice commanded._

"_We have new ways of learning what we want. You will perhaps find them more appealing." The Goa'uld laughed maniacally, causing him to shiver. There was a bright flash, his eyes burned, and he fell back into the dark abyss that was trying to claim him.

* * *

_

A few days later, the SGC had a memorial service. Soldiers in full dress uniform stood at one end of the gate room, across from the Stargate. At the end of that line, there was a podium facing the corner of the ramp. General Hammond stood at the podium and SG-1 stood to his right with Janet. On the ramp, were six soldiers holding the corners and sides of an American flag.

"Dr. Jackson." Hammond nodded to the archaeologist and stepped away from the podium as Daniel took his place.

"Jack O'Neill…" Daniel's voice caught in his throat. He looked down at his hands and swallowed. "Jack O'Neill…gave me Sha're. He's saved my life more times than I can remember. To Jack, his team was his family. He had an unwritten rule that nobody got left behind, and he tore himself apart when he was forced to break it. He kept us on our toes. He always said he was a man of very few words, but when he spoke people listened…even if they wanted to punch him afterwards."Daniel let out a sad, gasping chuckle that sounded like a strangled hiccup. Sam smiled sadly, tears in her eyes.

He took a deep breath and continued, "He was a good friend, a good man, a good leader. He gave his life for us and we'll be forever grateful…the world…the, the universe is going to be…a…more boring place without him."

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Author's Note: Atê is pronounced Ah-tay. Thanks for the reviews. I'm so giddy! This is my first fanfic. I've uploaded three chapters. Enjoy! 


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Daniel and Teal'c walked down the corridor on sub-level 19 on their way to Sam's lab.

"I haven't seen Sam since the memorial service," Daniel commented to his friend. "I'm worried about her."

"As am I, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c agreed.

After recovering from the initial shock, Sam had buried herself in her work when she was on base, which was most of the time. She wouldn't leave without an order from Janet or General Hammond. But despite her outward façade, Daniel knew that she wasn't handling Jack's death well. A few days earlier, Daniel had found Sam curled in a ball in a corridor. He had immediately crouched down beside her and took her in his arms.

"_Sam!" Daniel had never seen a sadder sight than the woman lying curled up before him with tears streaming down her face. He kneeled down next to her and pulled her into his arms._

"_Jack?" She asked looking up at him hope in her eyes. On seeing Daniel instead, she started to sob uncontrollably. "Oh, Daniel! I miss him, so much."_

"_I know, Sam. I miss him, too." He started to rock her gently. A few tears of his own, trailed slowly down his cheeks._

After that, Sam had busied herself again and seemed all right, but Daniel wondered how she was at home—or if she even went home.

Daniel and Teal'c reached Sam's lab, only to find it empty.

"It would appear that Major Carter is not here," Teal'c intoned.

Daniel could almost hear Jack's voice saying, "_Ya think?"_ He coughed trying to clear the lump that had formed in his throat. "We—" Daniel's voice cracked; he cleared his throat and tried again, "We should find her."

"Indeed."

* * *

After searching the entire base, Daniel and Teal'c tried the last place they thought to look; though, Daniel realized, it probably should have been one of the first—Jack's office. 

Sam sat curled up in his desk chair, holding his name plaque in her hands, tracing her fingers along the letters—Col. J. O'Neill. She didn't look up when they walked in. It was obvious she was upset again; she wasn't even attempting to hide behind her usual façade.

Daniel opened his mouth to say something, but Sam spoke first, still not looking at them, "I can't do it, Daniel." Sam's voice was heavy with emotion, but her eyes were dry.

"Do what, Sam?" Daniel asked gently.

"Everyone expects us to mourn for a few days and then get over it. General Hammond's planning on replacing him." Sam's voice cracked and tears welled up in her crystal blue eyes.

This was news to Daniel and it was like a slap in the face. He was caught up in his own emotions for a minute.

"I can't do it," Sam repeated, "I can't go on with out him. I can't live with out him, Daniel!" She ducked her head, tears escaping now.

Daniel managed to regain some semblance of control. "Sam, Jack would have wanted you to move on," he told her. "I know what it's like," he said, thinking of Sha're, "He would have wanted you to be happy."

"I can't!" she cried.

"Major Carter, if you do not, O'Neill's sacrifice would have been in vain. You must continue, if only to honor that," Teal'c strong voice cut in. "O'Neill was a great warrior; he would want you to be strong."

Sam shut her eyes. Shaking her head, she said, "We left him behind."

"No, Sam, he was dead, there was nothing we could have done," Daniel said, past the lump in his throat.

"There must have been something!"

"No … We would have died, too."

"O'Neill gave his life for us, Major Carter. We must accept it," Teal'c said, solemnly.

* * *

_The darkness surrounded him. He was lying on something hard. He felt lost in the great, dark expanse around him. From time to time, he could hear heavy footsteps nearby, and he tried to call to them, but whether they could hear him or not, they never answered. No other sound penetrated the darkness, except those that he knew were in his own head—echoes of the past, the voices of his friends, taunting him from the land of the living. Even so, he couldn't help talking to them._

"_Colonel, no!"_

"_Carter?" he murmured._

"_Hello, Jack…Welcome back."_

"_Daniel?" He knew they weren't real. Their voices were memories, things he'd heard them say. _

"_Colonel? Sorry, Sir, it's just so dark."_

"_Yes, it is. Wish you were here, Carter." He sat up and gazed into the dark, straining to see._

"_It isn't dark, we're blind, and we've failed."_

"_Space monkey. Always Mr. Negative." He pressed his hands against his head, trying to stop the voices._

"_He's telling you the truth! Please, Jack! No, Jack, please! Don't leave me! Please! Give me a chance! Don't leave me like this! Please!"_

"_Sam! I won't! I'm not going anywhere." He knew it was crazy of him to talk to them, but they sounded so real, and he wanted them to be. He could remember the day she'd said that. She'd been possessed by Jolinar, the Tok'ra, and had been trying to get him to trust her. _

_"I offer my knowledge of the Goa'uld. I offer my skills as a warrior to defeat them. I pledge my honor and my life to this world."_

"_You've already done that, Teal'c. Stop talking. Just get me out of here." He pressed his hands against his eyes. Pain suddenly flared up in them. He pulled his hands away and lay back down. "Ow! Gosh, that hurts!" The pain mixed with the exhaustion and hunger he was already feeling, making him weak and confused, causing him to forget where he was._

"_Colonel? Sorry, Sir, it's just so dark."_

"_Carter? Sam…Don't leave…" He tried to stand up, but stumbled. Luckily, he found one of the walls. His strength spent in that hurried movement, he half-fell half-slid along the wall to the ground. Sitting against it, he shut his eyes. "Sam?"_

"_I'm here, Jack."_

_Exhaustion overwhelmed him, and he lay down against the wall. "Sam," he whispered her name._

_"It's all right. You can sleep now."

* * *

_

Author's Note: The people who talk to Jack "Is he really dead?" O'Neill in this chapter all say things from episodes of the show; except for Sam's "Colonel, no!" which is from chapter one. Can anyone name the episode for each quote? (Jack's lines don't count). Oh, a little sneak peek for you: Jacob's coming in the next chapter which should be up with this one and the chapter two. 


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

Daniel, Teal'c, and Sam, all that was left of SG-1, sat in the briefing room, dreading the announcement General Hammond was going to make.

"Maybe he'll give you command, Sam," Daniel suggested, though they all knew it was only wishful thinking.

"Maybe." Sam's tone was sad and reflective, thinking back on all the things SG-1 had been through together.

Jack's voice resounded in her head, _Home of sky blue waters…loofas… "Ya, sure, you betcha, Snookums"… Mosquitoes—_She never had found out what else he was going to say about Minnesota before Thor had beamed him up. That had been the first time he had asked her to go fishing with him. What she wouldn't give to have him ask her again…

Just then, General Hammond entered from his office, followed by an Air Force colonel in full dress uniform. "SG-1, I understand that you have only just recently lost Colonel O'Neill…" He paused. "His loss was felt by us all…But I've decided that though Major Carter is quite capable to lead SG-1, under the circumstances and the fact that you are our premiere team, it would be best if you had someone of higher rank in command of your unit."

"General—" Daniel tried to interrupt.

"Dr. Jackson, we've been through this before. Now, my decision is final. Perhaps in the near future I will grant Major Carter command, but not at this time," Hammond told them firmly in his Texas drawl, "This is Colonel Richard Browning. He will be commanding SG-1."

Sam stood up and saluted stiffly. "Colonel."

Browning returned it. "Major." Then he turned to Daniel, "Dr. Jackson."

Daniel couldn't help but hesitate slightly before replying. "Nice to meet you, Colonel," he said politely, shaking the colonel's extended hand.

"And you, Doctor. It's nice to meet you, as well, Teal'c," Browning said, turning to the Jaffa.

Teal'c bowed his head. "Colonel Browning."

"Your first mission will be tomorrow, briefing at 0700. Dismissed." With that, Hammond left so that SG-1 could get acquainted with Jack's replacement.

There was an uneasy silence for a few minutes before Colonel Browning broke it, "I understand what you must be going through. I've lost my CO before; I know how hard it is to accept a new commanding officer, but I hope we'll be able to—" The colonel was cut off by alarms going off.

"Unscheduled off-world activation," a voice announced over the PA system.

The occupants of the briefing room filed quickly down the stairs to the control room, followed by General Hammond who had emerged from his office, to see who was coming through the Stargate.

"Receiving an IDC, Sir. It's the Tok'ra," Sergeant Davis reported.

"Defense teams stand by. Open the Iris," Hammond ordered.

Sam quickly made her way to the gate room hoping that her father would be one of the Tok'ra coming through.

The iris retracted and a few minutes later, Jacob Carter, and his symbiote Selmak, and Freya, and her symbiote Anise, stepped through the event horizon.

"Dad!" Sam greeted her father.

"Sam. It's good to see you, kiddo." Jacob smiled, giving her a hug. "You remember Freya and Anise?"

Sam tried to keep the bitterness out of her tone and plastered a fake smile across her face, "Yes, how could I forget?" She could hear Jack's voice again as the memory of Freya's last visit resurfaced, _I would rather have died myself than lose Carter…Because I care about her…a lot more than I'm supposed to._ The Tok'ra woman had been the cause of trouble for SG-1 on more than one occasion. Her last trip had been particularly unpleasant and had lead to Sam and Jack having to confess their feelings for each other. That memory brought to Sam's mind others that were painful to relive and reminded her of the fact that she had never had a chance to tell Jack that she loved him. She supposed she ought to be at least a little grateful that Freya had given her the opportunity to express some of her feelings to Jack before he died.

The elder Carter turned to General Hammond who had just entered the gate room. "George, how are you?"

"Jacob. What brings you and Anise?" Hammond returned, shaking his old friend's hand.

"Daniel, Teal'c," Jacob greeted the rest of SG-1. "Actually, we've got some good news. But first, I have a question. What happened to Jack?"

* * *

They took Jacob and Anise to the briefing room, where Teal'c told Jack's story, again, with Daniel and Sam interrupting from time to time to add something. Jacob listened quietly, with a curious expression on his face, glancing at his daughter and noticing the emotions, that she was obviously trying to keep under control, playing in her eyes. 

"It seems my news is better than I thought," Jacob said when Teal'c had finished, drawing incredulous looks from the members of the SGC. Sam couldn't keep the hurt she was feeling at her father's reaction off her face.

"Jack's alive," Jacob's statement was like a pebble dropped into a pond. The shock rippled over everyone's faces as what he said sank in.

"What!" Sam was the first to speak.

"Jack—Jack's alive?" Daniel asked, intermittently raising and furrowing his eyebrows as he said it.

"We have received information from a Tok'ra operative that Colonel O'Neill is being held by a Goa'uld by the name of Atê," Anise said, in her deep, metallic voice.

"Atê is the Greek goddess of evil and misfortune. That would explain why her Jaffa were on P8X-345," Daniel told them.

"There is no doubt that it is O'Neill?" Teal'c inquired.

"No, Atê specifically called him by name in the presence of our operative," Anise confirmed.

"Jack's alive?" Sam whispered, echoing Daniel. She still couldn't believe what her father was telling her. She shook her head, her blue-eyed gaze glued to the table. "But we saw him die." The emotion in her voice was evident to all. She _knew_ he was dead—she had watched him die and hadn't been able to stop it. How she wanted her father to be right!

"Yes," Jacob replied, giving his daughter a sympathetic look, "The Jaffa must have taken his body to Atê and put him in a Sarcophagus."

_A sarcophagus, of course!_ the calculating part of her mind thought—the part that, at times, wasn't affected by her emotions. _How could I have been so stupid? The Goa'uld would have taken the colonel's body, revived him, and tried to torture him into telling them the iris code or some other "Tau'ri" secret._

The image of her colonel, beaten and bruised, under going torture at the hand of a Goa'uld, penetrated the emotional cloud that surrounded the rest of her mind.

Vaguely, she was aware of Daniel saying, "Let's hope Atê doesn't have the same plan for Jack as Baal did."

"General, permission to lead a rescue mission," she asked, pulling herself from her shocked state.

"Major, that depends on what information the Tok'ra can provide on his location," Hammond replied. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and his eyes shone with relief at the good news about his second-in-command.

"Dad?" Sam asked, turning to her father.

Smiling himself, Jacob explained, "The Tok'ra operative has given us a detailed description of the planet where Colonel O'Neill is being held. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to provide us with much information on the complex itself. Now, the Goa'uld base is…"

* * *

About a minute into planning the mission, looking overwhelmed by all the emotions she was feeling, Sam asked to be excused. 

General Hammond exchanged a glance with Jacob and said, "Very well, Major, the briefing will be in a few hours."

"Thank you, Sir." Sam saluted and hurried out.

Jacob watched the door shut behind her.

_Anise will be able to finish helping George plan the mission,_ Selmak spoke silently to her host.

Turning to his old friend, Jacob asked, "George, Anise, you'll be able to finish up here on your own?"

"Yes, of course," Hammond replied, knowing full well where Jacob was going, "I'd like you to look over the plans before they're finalized, but Anise and I will be fine."

"Thanks, George."

Jacob left the briefing and hurried after his daughter. _She'll probably go to her lab,_ Jacob thought.

_Would she not prefer to go somewhere more comfortable?_ Selmak asked.

_She can't go home until later and she doesn't have any quarters here on base that I know of,_ Jacob replied.

Without realizing it, he had reached Sam's lab. _You been doing the walking again?_ Jacob asked, with a laugh that got him an odd look from a passing airman.

Selmak gave a mental snort, a very human mannerism courtesy of her many human hosts. _Don't blame your absent-mindedness on me._

Sobering, Jacob knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in!" came the flustered reply.

Opening the door, Jacob stuck his head in. Sam was in the process of trying to make her self look presentable: she had obviously been crying.

"Dad!" she paused, "Selmak?"

"It's me, Sam," he told her, coming farther into the room, "You alright?"

Sam gave him a weak smile and looked down at her hands. "I'm fine. How's the planning going?"

"Fine," Jacob returned, not believing her for a moment. "Sam, tell me the truth. Are you alright?" He took a few more steps toward her.

Sam shut her eyes, and then opened them again, revealing them to be red and puffy; tears rained down her cheeks.

Jacob immediately crossed the room and took her in his arms. "C'mere, honey. Shh … It's alright." Sam buried her face in his tunic. "It's alright. Jack's alive," Jacob soothed. _Why is she crying if he's alive?_

_I believe Samantha is emotionally spent. And perhaps she cries because he is in the hands of the Goa'uld, _Selmak said.

_You know she's stronger than that, Selmak._

"I—I don't know why I'm crying," Sam said, pulling away a little, but staying in her father's warm embrace. She smiled broadly despite the tears still coming. "Jack's alive!"

"You've been through a lot, Samantha. It's understandable you'd need to let it all out," Jacob said.

Sam looked down. "Daddy, can I tell you something?" she asked, sounding a bit like a lost child.

"Anything, sweetheart," Jacob replied, stroking her hair.

"I…can't. Never mind," Sam pulled away, wiping at her tears. "I should get ready. We have to get the colonel back." Jacob saw the military mask fit firmly back in place.

"Sam." He caught her arm, turning her toward him. "Tell me."

"I can't," she repeated. "Dad, It's…I can't."

"Is it about Colonel O'Neill?" Sam didn't answer. "Sam, it's obvious that you were mourning more than a lost friend. I won't tell General Hammond. You have to talk to someone. I'd rather it be me."

Sam shut her eyes again, then, coming to a decision, sat down on one of the chairs and gestured for Jacob to take another. "When Colonel O'Neill…died, I…I'm—Dad, I love him."

Jacob blinked.

_Why are you surprised, Jacob? You already knew it,_ Selmak asked him.

_I guess I just…didn't believe it._

_You don't mind though. Jack O'Neill is a lot like you._

_I should think that would worry me._

"Dad?"

"Does he feel the same for you?" Jacob asked.

"I don't know! I thought he was dead!" Tears were starting to flow again, but she kept talking. "And now he's alive. I'm so happy, but I don't know what to do. A relationship would be against regulations. I'd resign, but I don't know if he feels the same and—and I don't even know why I'm thinking about this! He's alive and that's all that matters!"

"You always did think too much, kiddo," he said, smiling fondly at her.

"That's what Jack used to say," Sam replied, unconsciously using his first name.

_He called you 'kiddo'?_ Jacob wanted to say.

_I do not think that that would be appropriate,_ Selmak said.

_I wasn't _going _to say it._

"I'm sure you'll work things out, Sam. When we get Jack back, if you need to talk, Selmak and I are only a Stargate away." Jacob put his arm around her.

She hugged him. "Thanks, Dad." She smiled and Jacob knew she would be all right, for now.

* * *

Sam went to the commissary for a much-needed cup of coffee. She perused the usual array of less-than-appetizing food, and all the conversations she had had with Jack over blue and red Jell-O came to mind. A small smile, at the prospect of seeing him again, crossed her face—though it was tainted by worry over what the Goa'uld might be doing to him, while she was enjoying the luxury of coffee and Jell-O. 

As she picked up a tall ice cream dish full of blue Jell-O and took it to one of the tables, someone called her name, "Major Carter!" It was Colonel Browning. "Join me?"

"Colonel Browning. I didn't expect to see you here, Sir," Sam replied, taking the offered seat next to him.

"Yes, well, evidently you're not the only one who could use a cup of coffee. Though, with all the excitement since those Tok'ra came, I suppose you need it more than I do. Congratulations, by the way, on the good news about Colonel O'Neill."

"Thank you, Sir. I'm sorry I didn't have the pleasure of serving under you, Colonel," Sam told him.

"So am I. Though, I doubt you felt that way before."

"To be honest, Sir, no I didn't." Sam dug her spoon into her Jell-O.

"Jell-O, Major?" Browning asked, looking at her chosen fare incredulously.

Sam smiled. "It's about the only good thing in the commissary, besides the cake. Though, Colonel O'Neill would argue that the Froot Loops are delicious." Sam looked down into her Jell-O as if it were some complex piece of machinery she was trying to back-engineer.

"Well, to each his own," Browning offered the cliché, drinking the last of his coffee.

Sam took a sip of her own coffee and then said, "Colonel, I'd be honored if you would join SG-1 on the rescue mission."

Browning looked a little shocked. When General Hammond had told him he would be leading SG-1 after O'Neill's death, he had known that the other team members would look on him as the guy who replaced their CO. He not only knew what it was like to lose a teammate, but also what a close-knit team SG-1 was. He had never expected such an offer from Carter. "Thank you, Major, I'll come along, but I think you should lead this mission."

* * *

Author's Note: I forgot how long it was before I actually stated that Jack was alive. Chapters Five and Six will be up tomorrow or later today. What do you guys think of Colonel Browning? I tried to make him likable so that the only thing anyone would have against him would be the fact that he was Jack's replacement; especially because he's going to be joining the rescue party. Thanks again for the reviews. 


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

"Atê was the Greek goddess of evil and misfortune, more specifically confusion and delusion, and the personification of error, ruin, and blind folly. She was the daughter of Zeus and Eris—Eris being the goddess of discord and strife. Atê was banished from Olympus by Zeus for deluding him.

"She led both gods and men to do rash, inconsiderate things. She was said to have delicate feet because she walks over the heads of men bringing them harm. She was followed by the Litai, which are prayers, mending and healing the trouble she caused."

Daniel finished his mythology lesson and sat down next to Sam. Teal'c was sitting on his other side, with Colonel Browning across from them, next to Freya and Jacob.

"Thank you, Dr. Jackson, that was…enlightening," General Hammond said, trying to sound interested, "Selmak?"

Jacob stood up and took the place at the front of the room the anthropologist had just vacated. Jacob bowed his head, and Selmak took control. "Colonel O'Neill is being held at a Goa'uld base on the planet SG-1 visited a week ago, Han'gine, which you have dubbed P8X-345.The base is about ten kilometers from the Stargate. Our operative has informed us that Colonel O'Neill is subject to a new form of torture. The nature of this torture is unknown. Colonel O'Neill has been kept in his cell since he was revived. We do not know the exact location of the cell in the complex."

Selmak's head bowed, and Jacob was back. "Now, the UAV showed that there are several Jaffa guarding the Stargate. We'll send a shock grenade through to disable them. Then SG-1, accompanied by Colonel Browning and myself, will 'gate to Han'gine, infiltrate the complex, and find an access terminal to the main computer. From there, we should be able to find out where Jack's being held."

Browning raised his finger to get the former general's attention, "I don't like the idea of leaving Jaffa at our back."

"Of course, that would be suicide," Jacob conceded, "Once we're in and we've got Colonel O'Neill, all we have to do is find the Tok'ra tunnels that our operative set up on his infiltration. They will take us back to the Stargate, but from a different direction than expected. We'll have the element of surprise on our side, if the Jaffa have awoken by then."

"_All_ we have to do is find the tunnels?" Daniel asked, eyebrows dancing up and down in confusion.

"I know all the usual places, so it shouldn't be too difficult," Jacob said with a shrug.

Daniel's brows stayed down at this. "The usual places?" He exchanged a look with Sam, "I'm confident," he said with a touch of sarcasm.

"Me, too," Sam agreed unconvincingly.

"As am I," Teal'c spoke up.

"I'm not," Browning declared cynically.

"Relax, all of you. Selmak assures me that she'll be able to find them," Jacob chided them.

"Now, your secondary mission will be to take out the base itself," General Hammond said. "Retrieving Colonel O'Neill is your top priority, so if, for any reason, you are discovered, or Colonel O'Neill is too severely injured, scrub the secondary mission and get out. You'll be leaving in one hour. Any questions?" There were none. "Good, dismissed."

* * *

"Chevron seven…locked."

"Send the grenade through," Hammond ordered. Jacob walked up to the top of the ramp, Freya holding the shock grenade. Taking it from her, he threw it through the shimmering pool. "Deactivate the wormhole!" Hammond said.

The gate technician tapped at his keyboard as Jacob and Freya hurried off the ramp and as far away from the Stargate as possible. Everyone waited to see if Sergeant Davis could get the wormhole to shut down before the shock wave reached them. The event horizon cut out, and everyone let out the breath they were holding.

"Send the MALP," was the General's next order.

"Yes, Sir."

The probe was sent through and they started to receive telemetry.

"Looks like all the Jaffa were hit by the blast," Sam said, looking at the monitors as the MALP directed its camera at the unconscious enemies.

"SG-1, you have a go," Hammond said. Daniel, Sam, Teal'c, and Colonel Browning joined Jacob in the gate room. "Bring Colonel O'Neill home," Hammond ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" Sam replied, a little more enthusiastically than she had intended.

* * *

_From where he lay against the wall, he stirred a little. It took a minute for him to remember where he was—in darkness. How had he gotten here? He couldn't remember; he'd been in the dark so long he was beginning to forget what light was like._

_Suddenly, a face popped into his head—Light, crystal blue eyes; short, blonde hair; and a smile that lit up her face and sent his heart into palpitations._

"_Sam…" He opened his eyes, peering into the dark. He'd been leaning against the wall—sometimes lying and sometimes sitting—since he'd stumbled across it. He needed the physical contact it provided to keep himself from going crazy in the empty darkness. _

_Sitting up, he thought he saw something in the dark. There it was again! It came slowly into focus and he realized it was a person. The figure stood looking at him, blurred beyond recognition, but it became more visible as the minutes passed. The first thing he noticed about the person was that it had blonde hair, cut short, and was wearing a black shirt and army green pants. _

_A familiar voice said his name, "Jack."_

"_Sam!" She suddenly came completely into focus, her blue eyes reflecting light that wasn't there. The darkness didn't seem to touch her; he couldn't see his hand in front of his face, but she was perfectly visible._

"_Hello, Jack." He tried to stand, but failed again, dropping to his knees. "Don't try to get up."_

"_I've never been so happy to see you in my life," he said, his voice a little hoarse from exhaustion._

_Sam smiled at him._

"_Where're Daniel and Teal'c?"_

"_They're not here, Jack."_

"_Why not?"_

_She smiled again, taking a few steps closer. "I'm not here either."_

"_You're…not?"_

"_Not what?" Sam asked, sitting down next to him._

"_Not here?"_

"_I'm here, Jack. You can sleep now." Sam put her head on his shoulder._

_He smiled. "I knew you'd come, Sam."_

"_Shh …Sleep."_

"_Shouldn't…we…be…getting out of…here?" he asked her tiredly._

_She lifted her head and turned toward him. Then she reached up and caressed his cheek lightly._

"_I love you, Sam," he told her sincerely. _

_

* * *

_Author's Note: Here is a list of the quotes used in chapter four. 

**"Hello, Jack...Welcome back." - Daniel – Children of the God**

**"Colonel? I'm sorry, Sir, it's just so dark." - Sam – Serpent's Lair**

**"It isn't dark, we're blind, and we've failed." - Daniel – Serpent's Lair**

**"He's telling you the truth! Please, Jack! No, Jack, please! Don't leave me! Please! Give me a chance! Don't leave me like this! Please!" -Sam/Jolinar – In the Line of Duty**

**"I offer my knowledge of the Goa'uld. I offer my skills as a warrior to defeat them. I pledge my honor and my life to this world." - Teal'c – The Enemy Within**

**"Colonel? Sorry, Sir, it's just so dark." - Sam – Serpent's Lair**

**"I'm here, Jack." - Sam – Solitudes**

**"It's all right. You can sleep now." - Sam – Solitudes**

The only person who got them all right was **sekkii.** Nice work! Thanks for all the great reviews, everyone! I'm putting up this chapter and chapter six today. Tomorrow will be seven and eight...maybe nine if I feel like it. Here's a little tidbit: There are eleven chapters not counting the prologue and the epilogue; thirteen in all.


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

Sam emerged from the Stargate's event horizon along with everyone else. Aiming her weapon around the village ruins, she saw five Jaffa that had been knocked out by the shock grenade. Sam gestured to the other members of her team to move out.

"Area's clear," Browning reported, when they finished their sweep.

"The complex is ten klicks north of here," Jacob told them.

Sam nodded and they all started stealthily forward.

They reached a hill and Jacob gestured for them to stop. "It's right beyond this ridge."

They started forward again, crawling along on their stomachs, and peeked over the hill. The complex stood about forty feet away, Jaffa patrolling outside.

"How do we get past them?" Daniel asked.

"Zats," Jacob answered simply, "and the element of surprise."

"Where's the door?" Colonel Browning asked.

"There." Sam pointed it out. "Ten Jaffa guarding the door, plus five patrolling—three to one. It's risky, but I think we can do it." The group drew and armed their zatn'kitels. "Daniel, Teal'c, flank left. Colonel, Dad, take right." Her team nodded their acknowledgement and Sam gestured for them to move out.

When everyone was in their place, Sam gestured again and they all opened fire. Sam dropped two Jaffa before they managed to shoot back. Another Jaffa got a staff blast off before she shot him twice, killing him. Colonel Browning killed the last of the Jaffa, and the team moved forward.

Silently, Sam touched four buttons in sequence on a small panel by the door, and it slid open. She checked the hall before signaling that it was empty. They hurried down the hall, turning at the first intersection to get away from the door and the unmistakable proof that someone had broken in.

"Shouldn't that have been harder?" Browning asked, his voice barely audible.

"The Goa'uld are arrogant. They wouldn't think we'd be able to defeat their Jaffa. But we should stay alert, just in case," Jacob replied.

They continued down the corridor, until they heard the familiar sound of metal boots on the floor. Slipping behind the gold pillars that lined the corridors, they stayed out of sight as two Jaffa marched past—One of the Goa'uld's shortcomings was their insistence on building pillars along their halls. Sam fingered her P-90 restlessly and pushed back the thought that these Jaffa that had killed Jack.

They followed the corridor until they reached another intersection, this time turning left.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" Colonel Browning asked Jacob.

"Some, yes. Look, maybe you're new to the general concept of covert operations, but could you be quiet?" Jacob replied.

_Makes me wonder how he made colonel,_ he thought.

_I'm beginning to see a pattern in your Air Force, Jacob. Colonel O'Neill is another example,_ Selmak said.

There was another 15 minutes of stop-and-go through the corridors before they found the main computer terminal in a dark room lit only by the glow from the panel.

Jacob sat down at it immediately, pressing a button that brought up a holographic display. Sam stood looking over his shoulder, while Browning, Daniel, and Teal'c watched the door.

Jacob pulled up a list of prisoners and then a layout of the base. "There," he said, pointing to one of the cells. He punched a couple more buttons and a red line traced along the corridors leading from the cell to the room they were in.

"Alright," Sam said, committing the path to memory. "Daniel and I will go get Colonel O'Neill. Why don't you, Teal'c, and Browning set the C-4?" Sam asked, phrasing it as a question so as not to order her father around.

"Take Teal'c with you in case you have to carry Jack."

* * *

The anxiety Sam had been feeling since they had arrived sky rocketed as they neared Jack's cell. What would they find when they got there? Would there be anything left of him? She knew the Goa'uld Baal had done all sorts of horrible things to him, but Jack had never told them the whole story. Was he still the Jack O'Neill she loved?

Daniel seemed to notice. "Sam? You alright?" he whispered as they crept down the hall.

Before she could answer, footsteps resounded again. Taking cover, they waited them out. "The colonel's cell is just ahead," Sam told them.

They finally reached it. With a shaking hand, Sam pressed the same four buttons she had at the front door, but nothing happened. She exchanged a worried glance with Daniel and tried again—still nothing.

Reaching for her radio, she contacted her father, "Dad, this is Sam. Do you read me?"

"_Loud and clear, Sam. Go ahead,"_ his familiar voice replied.

"The cell door isn't responding to the normal entry code."

There was silence on the other end for a few minutes. Sam watched Teal'c study the panel, while Daniel looked from Sam to Teal'c to the shut door anxiously. "Dad? You still there?"

"_Yes, I'm here."_ There was another pause and then a sigh. _"Doors can only be opened without the code from the throne room and it's too heavily guarded to try to get in. You could try to blow the door open, but I don't know how large that cell is, and the blast could kill Jack."_

Sam shut her eyes. "Teal'c…"

"I am sorry, Major Carter. Each cell has a unique access code. I know only those that were in use by Apophis when I was his First Prime," Teal'c explained gravely.

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses down, and then dropped his hand in a frustrated gesture.

Suddenly, something Jack had said popped into Sam's head:_ Think you can hot-wire this thing?_

"Dad?" she called into her radio.

"_Yeah?"_

"I'm going to try to bypass the security system and open it without the code."

"_Sam, are you crazy? Don't you think the Goa'uld would be smart enough to put some sort of safety mechanism to ensure against that? I mean, otherwise it would be pretty stupid to lock him in there. They might as well put him in a closet with a chair up against the knob," _Jacob said, unknowingly responding in the same way his daughter had when Jack had first offered the suggestion.

The irony of this entire conversation wasn't lost on Sam. It amazed her how Jack always seemed to look at problems at their simplest. He often managed to come up with a solution none of them would have thought of. What to him was a flippant comment sometimes gave Sam or Daniel an idea that could save them even when he wasn't there.

"The Goa'uld do not have knobs on their doors," Teal'c commented, his right eyebrow arching.

"Uh, yeah, well, I think it was a figure of speech," Daniel said, pushing his glasses up by the nosepiece.

"You yourself said that the Goa'uld are arrogant. Besides Selmak must know something about how the system works?" Sam insisted.

Another pause. _"Sam, you need to realize that if this doesn't work it'll bring the entire complex down on you."_

She looked at her teammates who nodded gravely, understanding her unspoken question.

Sam gave them a weak smile. "We understand. What about you and Colonel Browning?" she asked her father.

"_Forget us. Get your colonel out of there."_

"Thanks, Dad." She took hold of the side of the panel and yanked it open. "Alright, I've got it open, now what?"

Sam was startled when, instead of her father's familiar voice, Selmak's deep, distorted one came over the radio. _"This will take some time, Samantha. First, you must… "

* * *

Sam ran a hand down her face and then brought it back up to brush back a strand of blonde hair that had fallen in to her eyes. "Alright, this should do it." She wasn't sure how long they had been working on the door. But what with Selmak unsure of what she was doing and the numerous times they had to hide from Jaffa, not to mention the time her father and Browning had almost been caught, it had taken at least an hour. Hammond would start to wonder if they were coming back._

"_Yes, put the last crystal back and the door should open,"_ Selmak assured her. On hearing this, Daniel stood up from where he had been sitting on the floor and came up beside her. Teal'c was still guarding the hall.

Picking up the crystal that the Tok'ra had indicated, she held it over its socket, her hand shaking. Question after question ran through her head; images of Jack, wounded or dead, followed them. She might be about to save him, but would there be anything left to save?

"Sam?" Daniel looked at her curiously.

"Right." She shook herself, giving her friend a reassuring smile. She pressed the crystal into place. The crystals immediately lit up and the door slid open with an audible whoosh.

The cell was bare and shaped roughly like an octagon, lit by five panels built into the walls. A still form lay against the back wall. There was a quiet groan, and the figure stirred.

Sam rushed forward. "Colonel?"

"Sam…" came the murmured reply.

Reaching him, she put her hand on his arm to roll him gently onto his back, but at her touch, he jerked in shock and rolled himself over.

His eyes, sunken in and glazed, were open, but he just stared up at the ceiling. His face was drawn. He was still wearing his green BDUs, but his jacket was missing. His black T-shirt had a gaping hole where he had been hit. Its edges were charred. His chest held no traces of the wound that had killed him.

"Sam?" he asked. Jack's thin hand flailed out toward her and she caught it.

"Jack!" She smiled tearfully. He squeezed her hand tightly and brought it to his face as he tried to sit up. She helped him, and when he was sitting, he pulled her toward him and hugged her tightly as if his life depended on it.

"Oh, my gosh, Sam. You're here! You're really here," he murmured.

She didn't answer, but held him, tears streaming down her face. He was so thin and weak that she felt like he would break if she squeezed him too tightly, but he was alive.

His grip tightened and then went slack as he fell unconscious.

Fear gripped her. "Jack, no!" Sam lay him down and checked his pulse. She had forgotten that Daniel was there until he put his hand on her shoulder as he crouched down next to her. "His pulse is weak and he's dehydrated. We've got to get him out of here!" Sam cried.

"It looks like he hasn't eaten in days." Daniel's voice was full of worry. "Teal'c!"

The Jaffa was quick to answer the archaeologist's call and stepped into the room, his face etched with concern. "Daniel Jackson."

"You'll have to carry Jack. He's collapsed."

Teal'c silently handed Daniel his staff weapon, which the anthropologist looked at skeptically, and lifted the debilitated Air Force colonel onto his shoulders.

"Um, Sam, you should…" Daniel started, offering her the Goa'uld weapon, but he trailed off as he realized Sam wasn't paying attention to him, but watching Jack. After a minute, Sam hefted her P-90 and started off down the hall, ahead of Teal'c, toward the exit.

"Dad, we've got him. Where are you?" she called into her radio.

"_We've almost planted the last of the C-4. We'll meet you in the third hall off the main corridor,"_ Jacob replied.

"Hurry, Dad. I don't know how long the colonel will last."

* * *

They made it to the hall without incident, but things went downhill from there. An alarm sounded, and a harsh Goa'uld voice echoed through the corridor. 

"They know we're here," Daniel warned.

Sam moved her hand to her radio, but she stopped when her father and Colonel Browning came around the corner.

"How's Jack?" Jacob asked.

"He's dehydrated and really thin, but I don't think he's injured," Daniel answered.

"Does Selmak know where the tunnels are?" Sam asked.

Jacob bowed his head. "The usual access is a hidden door in the back wall of a storage closet," Selmak told them.

"We can't search them all," Browning said.

"And we won't. The most logical place would be a storage room on the outer wall facing the Stargate. Come."

Loud footsteps resounded through the halls. They all turned their heads toward the sound in time to see five Jaffa, in full battle armor, coming around the corner. Drawing their weapons, the team ducked behind the pillars just in time to avoid several staff blasts fired in their direction.

Daniel fired Teal'c's staff weapon, killing a Jaffa, and then ducked back into the cover of his pillar. When he stuck his head back out, only two Jaffa remained. He fired again, missing this time. The last Jaffa dropped dead, killed by Zat blasts, and SG-1 emerged.

"Come on!" Jacob yelled, running down the hall. Teal'c lifted Jack up on his shoulders again, and they all followed the Tok'ra.

They had reached the end of the hall when more staff blasts ripped through the air. They ducked down the right side corridor and Selmak lead them quickly toward the end.

"This is it," Selmak said, standing outside a storage closet.

"You sure?" Sam asked.

"Hold them off while I check," Jacob replied.

Teal'c put Jack down just inside the closet and took his staff weapon from Daniel.

Daniel pulled out his Zat and rejoined the battle. There were about twenty of them, and SG-1 was hard-pressed to keep them back.

Daniel ducked back behind a pillar as three staff blasts shot toward him. Three loud booms erupted from the pillar Daniel was hiding behind. It shook and chunks of stone broke away from it, creating a large hole above his head. Across the corridor, Sam and Teal'c's pillar was similarly focused on.

"They're taking out our cover!" Sam exclaimed into her radio, "Dad! Hurry!"

"This is it! The tunnels are here," Jacob called.

Daniel wondered how they were possibly going to get to the closet without being shot. Firing another salvo of Zat blasts, he jumped back just in time to miss the return salvo of staff-weapon fire. The pillar shook again, and Browning and Daniel dove away from it as the last piece of stone at the bottom broke away, revealing the two men.

The colonel was on his feet in a moment, the archaeologist a half step behind him. The other members of SG-1 tried their best to give their teammates cover as they ran, firing, to the other side of the corridor. They were almost there, but as Daniel reached the other pillar, a staff blast hit it sending a shower of stone shrapnel at him.

A burning pain shot through his left side, followed by a sharp, bone-crushing pain through his left shoulder. As he lost consciousness, he faintly hoped that Sam, Teal'c, and Browning hadn't been caught in the blast.

* * *

Sam ran down the corridor, with Teal'c right behind her. When Daniel and Colonel Browning didn't follow, a sick feeling began to form in the pit of her stomach. Sticking her head around the corner, firing into the slowly ebbing wave of enemy Jaffa, she crossed the corridor to their pillar, hoping Daniel, and Browning, were still alive. Teal'c laid down cover fire from the corridor. 

The pillar still afforded some cover, but not for long. Browning was waiting behind it, he had obviously avoided the shower of stones, but Daniel wasn't so lucky.

He was lying on his back a few inches from the pillar, having been thrown back by the blast. Stone dust covered him almost completely. The left side of his body was covered in red spots where the shards stone had cut and imbedded into his skin. Fortunately, his glasses had fallen off; they lay just above his head, the lenses shattered. A large chunk of stone had landed on his left shoulder, probably breaking his collarbone.

Sam's breath caught in her throat. _No! Not Daniel, not like Jack!_

"Major Carter!" Teal'c called above the noise. "A grenade!"

Sam's eyes darted around, trying to find the grenade that Teal'c was warning her about, but then she realized it wasn't a warning; it was a command.

"Browning, when I give you a go, get that rock off of Daniel and get him back here!" she ordered.

She pulled a grenade out of her pocket, nodded at Teal'c, and yelled to Browning, "Now!"

Teal'c and Sam started pouring cover fire at the enemy, and Browning rushed over to the prostrate linguist. Heaving the large stone off Daniel's shoulder, Browning winced at the bloody mess underneath. Knowing that moving an injured person could make things worse, but not really having any other choice, he lifted Daniel and stood. He hurried first behind the pillar and then farther to the side corridor, heading for Jacob and the tunnel.

Sam pulled the grenade pin as soon as the colonel was safely down the corridor and threw it at the advancing horde. Diving for the wall, she slid behind it as an explosion ripped through the hall.

"Sam! Teal'c!" her father called.

Pulling herself to her feet, she rushed to the closet with Teal'c, into a hidden door in the back and the tunnels behind.

* * *

George Hammond stood in the control room looking out the large window at the gate room below. SG-1 had been expected back two hours earlier, but considering that it was SG-1, and that they were on a rescue mission, he shouldn't have been too worried. However, Hammond had learned long ago that he cared more about his flagship team than a general really should.

Hammond knew that he had a full desk of paperwork waiting for his attention, but he hadn't been able to pull himself from the room, in case his errant team should return. With an effort, he forced his eyes from the inactive Stargate and said to Sergeant Davis "I'll be in my office."

"Yes, Sir," Davis replied as the General turned toward the spiral staircase in the corner of the room.

Suddenly, all seven chevrons lit up at once and an alarm sounded. "Unauthorized off-world activation!" Davis called over the PA system. Hammond turned back as the Stargate emitted a swirling vortex of water that then settled back into the rippling event horizon of an active wormhole.

Hammond opened his mouth to ask a question, but Davis answered first, "It's SG-1, Sir."

"Open the iris," Hammond ordered, "Get a medical team down here."

"Medical team to the gate room!" Davis relayed the order.

The first thing through the puddle was an energy blast that hit the wall and left a charred mark on the concrete. Colonel Browning came next, almost tripping, a limp body in his arms. But he caught himself and rushed off the ramp out of the line of fire as Jacob came through, also carrying someone. Sam was next, flying out of the wormhole and landing hard on the metal ramp with Teal'c right behind her.

"Close the iris!" she yelled.

Janet rushed in with the medical team as the titanium iris slid shut. She was at Browning's side in seconds. "Daniel! Looks like a fractured shoulder and collarbone," she said, probing his injuries with her fingers. "Get him to the infirmary!" The med team took Daniel and placed him on a stretcher.

Janet moved over to Jacob and the unconscious Jack. "He's dehydrated and malnourished. Let's get him on IV nutrition!" Janet followed Jack's stretcher out of the gate room.

"SG-1, debriefing in one hour," the general told them as they removed their weapons and headed toward the infirmary.

* * *

Author's Note: Okay, next chapter will have Jack safe in the infirmary, but it's only halfway over. What else will go wrong? Or mabye it's what goes right? Hmm... Keep reading and reviewing! Thanks! 


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

Sam sat on a chair beside Jack's bed. Her father, who had decided to stay a few days, sat next to her. Teal'c stood watch over Jack on the other side of the bed. Jack lay, still unconscious, with all sorts of wires and tubes attached to him.

Sam hated seeing him like this. He looked so helpless and vulnerable. She reached over and took his hand. She wiped at the worried tears that had slipped down her cheeks. First Jack and now Daniel, she wasn't sure how much more she could take. She felt weak and vulnerable herself. She hadn't slept well in weeks. She let out a shaky breath.

Jacob patted her thigh. "They'll be alright," he assured her.

"Jacob is correct. Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson have been through worse before," Teal'c told her confidently.

"You—" Jacob started, but Janet, entering the room, interrupted him. Sam and Jacob stood up.

"Daniel's just come out of surgery. We set all his broken bones and managed to remove all of the stone. His arm will be in a sling for a while and he'll be extremely sore, but no permanent damage was done," the doctor reported to her patient's teammates. Sam opened her mouth to say something, but Janet was one step ahead of her. "The anesthetic should wear off in a few hours and then you can go and see him."

The Carters sat down again and Janet moved over to check Jack's vitals. "Let's see if the colonel's ready for something to eat," she said, taking a needle from a tray near by and injecting the contents into his IV.

There was no initial response. Sam watched anxiously. _Come on, Jack._

Then he stirred, groaning, and his eyes fluttered open. "Colonel?" Sam asked.

"Sam?" Jack murmured, his voice cracking from lack of use, his brown eyes resting, unfocused, on the ceiling.

"Colonel O'Neill, how are you feeling?" Janet asked, picking up a bowl of soupy white stuff that looked like Cream of Wheat and dipping a spoon into it.

"Doc?" he asked, his face scrunching up in confusion, his eyes not even glancing toward her.

Sam frowned. W_hy doesn't he look at us?_

Janet moved the bowl toward him, to hold it under the spoon as she fed him. Jack didn't react, but his hands moved under the blanket in an odd way before he brought them up to touch the edge.

"Where am I?" He pulled his hands the rest of the way out and flailed them over the blanket toward the edges of the bed as if he was searching for something. "You're in the infirmary," Janet told him slowly, as if speaking to a child, confusion lacing her tone. Jack frowned again. She lifted the spoon out of the bowl and toward him. Again, he didn't react. "Colonel?" She looked over at Sam and Jacob, worry in her eyes.

"The infirmary? Why—why is it so dark?" His voice was permeated with fear. Sam had never heard him sound so vulnerable. He swallowed. "Something go wrong with the lights?" he asked with a weak attempt at his usual bravado.

Sam threw Janet a worried look. "Janet?"

Janet put the bowl down. "Colonel, I'm going to check your pupils with my penlight, alright?"

Jack's eyes moved searchingly. Janet flashed the light into each of his eyes—still no reaction from Jack.

"Janet?" Sam pleaded for an answer. "What's wrong?"

"Fraiser? Sam?" Jack asked desperately.

"It's alright, Colonel. I'm going to run some tests. I want you to get some rest."

"No, Doc! Tell me what's wrong! I can't see, can I? It isn't dark; I'm blind! Daniel was right!" Jack exclaimed, trying to sit up, but falling back on the pillow. Sam felt her heart wrench at her colonel's outcry.

"Colonel, please! I don't know what's wrong yet. I'll tell you as soon as I do. Now, I want you to get some rest and eat something." Janet placed the bowl carefully in Jack's hands. He felt around the edge, getting the white mush on his fingers. "Sam, get his head."

Sam lifted his head and placed another pillow under it. Jack leaned into her touch for a moment, his expression that of a man starved of human contact. Sam bit her lip in sympathy, her eyes moistened with tears.

"Open your mouth, Colonel," Janet ordered gently.

"Ugh! What are you trying to do, choke me?" Jack said weakly, coughing on the white concoction the doctor had put in his mouth.

"Nurse, could you help Colonel O'Neill?" Janet called to one of her nurses.

"I can do it myself," Jack told her, holding out his hand for the spoon.

"Colonel, you're in no shape to be doing anything yourself."

"I'll do it myself," Jack bit out stonily.

Janet hesitated, but then gave in, handing him the spoon. "Very well. If you need any help, just ask." She gave Jacob, Sam, and Teal'c significant looks and crossed the infirmary. Sam watched Jack struggle with his spoon and grimace at the taste, her heart going out to him, before following the others to where Janet was waiting.

"I'm going to run a CAT scan and see what I can find out. I don't understand what could be causing this," the doctor told them.

"I have never heard of a Goa'uld using any method that would cause blindness," Teal'c intoned.

"Will his eyesight return?" Sam asked.

"We'll see," Janet said quietly.

* * *

Daniel groaned softly as pain shot through his side and shoulder. Opening his eyes, he squinted against the bright lights of the infirmary.

"Daniel!" Janet said with a bright smile, appearing suddenly above him. "Sam, he's awake," She called.

"Hi," Sam said, coming up beside the doctor.

"Hi," he returned weakly, "What happened?"

"You got in the way of some stones that fell off of one of the Goa'uld pillars," Sam told him, sitting down next to the bed.

Another wave of pain shot through his shoulder as he shifted his arm.

"Broken shoulder and collarbone," Janet explained, laying a hand on his arm.

"Jack?"

"He's…fine. Daniel, he's…" She hesitated. "He's blind."

"What?" Daniel asked, his eyebrows shooting sky high and then furrowing deeply. He glanced at his blonde friend in time to see her close her eyes. When she opened them again, she had a stricken expression on her face.

"I did a CAT scan and there's significant damage to his retina. I'm afraid he may never see again," Janet explained, her voice gentle.

Daniel squeezed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and fingers. "Does he know?"

"Yes. He says he doesn't know what happened after he…died. He might be able to remember in a few days, but…"

"How's he taking it?"

"You know Colonel O'Neill; he doesn't talk much. All he's showing us is an unreadable mask…" She shook her head. "I don't know."

"There's…_nothing_ you can do?"

"No, I'm sorry. It's possible that his eyesight may return on its own, but…" Janet shook her head again. "There's nothing we can do."

Daniel looked at Sam. "He's alive and safe, that's the important thing," he said. Sam nodded.

Suddenly, she frowned. "Daniel, Jack…Colonel O'Neill said something about you being right, that it wasn't dark, he was blind. Do you know what he was talking about?"

"That's right. I wondered about that," Janet put in.

"Well, I haven't even _talked_ to him since before he…died." Daniel answered, frowning in turn.

"Well, that's enough chitchat. You need to rest. I'll give you another dose of painkillers if you want, but visiting hours are over," Janet announced, after they all thought about it for a moment.

"I'll see you again later, Daniel." Sam gave his hand a squeeze. He smiled at them both and then shut his eyes.

* * *

Jack lay on his back in his infirmary bed. It was soft and warm, at least compared to the hard, cold floor of his cell—if it had even been a cell. The noises of a nearby heart monitor, the quiet voices of nurses and visitors, and Teal'c's breathing from where he sat, were soothing compared to the ghostly echoes of the footsteps beyond those thick, stone walls and the voices in his mind. He clutched at the side of the bed, in need of some sort of physical contact.

So long in that cell without any light and now he was back at the base and still the darkness was a constant companion. He still expected to open his eyes and see the reassuring faces of his friends and teammates.

He ran his hands over his face, causing pain to shoot through his eyes. They were still sore. He couldn't remember what had happened, and he wondered what he could have done to prevent it.

_What am I going to do now? I can't exactly lead SG-1 like this._ He pushed the dreary thought out of his head. He would deal with that when Dr. Fraiser let him out of the infirmary.

Light steps echoed off the hard floor, coming toward him. They weren't high heels like those Janet and the nurses wore.

"T?" Jack called to his friend, sitting up.

"What is it, O'Neill?" Teal'c replied, his disembodied voice coming from Jack's left.

"Who's that?" Jack begrudgingly asked, annoyed that he had to.

Someone pulled the curtain back. "It's Carter," Sam answered his question.

Jack's face lit up for a minute before he repaired the temporary crack in his personal barriers. "Hi, Carter," he answered, keeping his voice and face impassive, resisting the urge to call her by her first name.

Jack felt his frustration boiling up as he realized Sam was in the room but he couldn't see her face or read her expression. She was the one he had wanted to see the whole time he was captured.

"How are you feeling, Sir?"

"Aw, you know, knee's a little stiff from lying around, not to mention the numerous holes Janet insists on punching in me with her needles, but I'm good—bored, but good. Not to slight the company of course." He attempted to nod toward Teal'c and hoped his aim wasn't too bad. He forcefully unclenched his teeth and pushed his frustration deeper behind his carefully constructed walls.

"Teal'c, Daniel's awake. Janet will probably let you see him if you ask her," Sam told the Jaffa.

Jack heard Teal'c stand. "Thank you, Major Carter." The curtain was drawn back and closed again.

"What trouble has Daniel gotten himself into this time?" Jack spoke awkwardly into the silence, wondering if maybe Sam had left, too.

When she answered, her voice was closer than he had expected, startling him. "He was injured during your rescue mission."

He turned his head toward her as best he could. "Dr. Jackson and his habits," Jack said, shaking his head. He could almost feel Sam smile, and felt a pang that he couldn't see it brighten up her face like he knew it would. _What I wouldn't give to see that smile…_

Jack started at the touch of her hand on his. He clasped it before he realized what he was doing, reveling in the human contact. It had been so long since he had felt anything but the stone walls and floor of that cell—so long since he had been touched. He felt a connection to the world around him for the first time in days.

"Colonel, I—" Whatever she was going to say was cut off by the curtain being drawn back for the once again. "General Hammond," Sam said, by way of a greeting, pulling away. Jack released her hand reluctantly, cutting himself off from the world again. Jack kept his disappointment from showing on his face and hoped it didn't show in his sightless eyes.

"Major Carter. Colonel O'Neill, how are you doing?" Hammond's voice came from the end of the bed.

"Fine, Sir," Jack answered the formless voice.

Hammond hesitated. "Jack…" The general was using his first name, not a good thing. "I've spoken to Dr. Fraiser and, I'm sorry, but as you are unfit for duty I'm going to have to deactivate your commission."

Jack felt like the general had jammed a knife in to his chest. Up until then, he realized, he had hoped it was all a dream or a mistake, but now Hammond was asking him to turn in his dog tags, and it all became painfully clear that his life, as he had known it, was over. "I understand, Sir." Jack kept his tone flat and emotionless.

* * *

"Well, Colonel, your strength has returned, so there's no reason for you to stay in the infirmary, but I'd like you to stay on base for observation." Janet's voice came out of nowhere; the only announcement of her presence was the sound of her high heels on the concrete floor and the curtain that surrounded Jack's bed being drawn back. "I've had one of the guest quarters set up for you. If you're ready…?" The doctor reached out and took his arm.

"It's not like I can tell the difference anyway," Jack replied bitterly.

Janet paused, her silence radiating disapproval, before leading him over to a chair by the bed. She laid his hand on something soft that, after running his fingers over it, Jack realized was a pile of clothes— BDU's, by the feel of them. "Get dressed. I'll send in one of the male nurses to help you."

"That's alright, Doctor. I can take care of it," Jack said, putting the full authority of his former rank into his tone.

Janet didn't reply, but the way she pulled the curtain around him again gave Jack the feeling she was ignoring him.

Over the last few days that Jack had been back, he had begun to realize how much he relied on his eyes to help him do things. Sitting in the infirmary hadn't provided him with that many examples, but trying to get dressed without the use of his eyes really drove the fact home.

He had managed to get his pants on properly, when the familiar sound of someone coming through the curtain announced the arrival of the male nurse Janet had promised.

Jack didn't even attempt to turn toward him. "I thought I told Doctor Fraiser I could handle it."

"Nice to see you, too, Jack," Daniel's voice came back, much to Jack's chagrin.

"It _would_ be nice to _see_ you, if I could," Jack said, cynically.

He could feel Daniel frown. "Sorry…I—"

"Not your fault." Jack sighed, chastising himself for taking his anger out on his socially inept friend. "How's the shoulder?" Jack asked, pulling the black—he assumed it was black—T-shirt over his head, tucking it into his pants, and fumbling with his belt buckle. _Darn belt buckle!_

"I'm fine. Did you…need any help?" Daniel said in a tone that sounded like he was bracing himself.

"No," Jack growled, sick and tired of people offering to help him. He silently condemned the Goa'uld for doing this to him.

He took the button down shirt of his BDU's, laid it on the back of the chair, and, sitting down, he began searching for his boots. He found one and began the difficult task of tying it. Daniel stayed wisely silent the whole time. Finishing, Jack started feeling around for his other boot. He felt it bump against his hand.

"You know, Jack, no one will think worse of you if you ask for help," Daniel said as Jack roughly took the boot from him. The scientist's former restraint was evidently short-lived.

Jack tied his boot just as roughly, ignoring his friend, irritated at him for sticking his nose where it didn't belong. Though, deep down, Jack was grateful that Daniel cared enough to face his wrath.

After a few minutes, Daniel stirred. "I'll tell Janet you're ready to go."

Jack didn't answer, but put on his outer shirt on, feeling the loss of his dog tags from around his neck.

Janet's footsteps returned, and she took his arm again. "This way, Colonel."

"I'm retired," Jack corrected.

Janet ignored him again, leading him out of the infirmary and into what was definitely the elevator.

It was an odd feeling to ride an elevator in complete darkness.

The elevator came to a stop and Janet pulled him down the corridor, giving him a running commentary on what was happening around them. "Here we are: sub-level 25. I had the airmen put all the furniture against one wall, out of the way, where you won't have to worry about it. We're turning left here, Sir. I'll send someone to your house to pick up some clothes for you and anything else you think you'll need." Jack wasn't really listening, but was trying to figure out where they were and keep track of the turns in the corridors. He gave up after a few moments when he realized it was pointless. "We're turning right, now. It's the second door on the left. I'm going to get you a cane to help you get around, but that will take a few days. General Hammond wants to debrief you, but I've asked him to wait until you're settled."

Janet stopped and opened a door, leading Jack inside. "Here it is. I'll post an airman outside your door, if you need any help. Here's the bed." She took his hand and laid it on the soft piece of furniture. "If you follow this wall,"—she put his hand on the wall to the right of the bed—"you'll reach the bathroom. And if you keep going, the door is here. The furniture is piled along that wall, so stay along this one. Is there anything you need?"

"No, I'm fine," Jack told her curtly, tired of people asking him that. Then he added begrudgingly, "Thanks, Doc."

"You're welcome, Jack," she replied sympathetically.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm glad you guys liked Colonel Browning. I had trouble keeping him from sounding too much like Jack. Jack's blind; were you surprised? As much as I love Jack, I always seem to be beating him up. He's just such a complicated character. I love writing him; especially hurt or injured. It's so sad. 


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

Sam knocked on the door of 25R3-02, the guest quarters Jack was staying in while he was confined to the base. It had been a few days since he left the infirmary, and Janet hadn't let him go home yet.

"What?" Jack called irritably.

Sam winced. "It's Carter, Sir."

"Come in."

Jack was sitting on the edge of a pile of furniture set against the right hand wall, in a chair with his feet up on a table in front of him. In his hands, he was turning a pen end over end, running his fingers over its surface. He never could keep his hands still, but there seemed to be something other than the need of movement involved in the action. He didn't move as she walked in, but continued his study of the writing implement.

"Hi, Colonel," Sam greeted him, her initial smile falling as she realized he couldn't see it.

"It's Jack, Carter. I'm retired…again," he told her ruefully. "Though, this time I won't be called back."

Sam looked down at her hands, unsure of how to answer him. She didn't have to, because just then his pen slipped from his fingers. "Aw, for crying out loud," he groused, dropping his feet off the table with a thud.

"I'll get it, Sir," Sam offered, crossing the room.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Carter. I didn't want that particular pen anyway," Jack told her sarcastically.

"Sir—" Sam started.

Jack stood up suddenly. "Drop the Sir, for crying out loud!" he all but yelled at her. He attempted to cross the room, but slammed into the table. "Darn furniture!" His hand brushed against what Sam guessed was another pen there, picked it up, and threw it across the room. It crashed into the wall with a thud.

He ran both hands through his silver and gray hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. "What's the point?"

"The point of what?" Sam frowned, confused as to what he meant.

"Of everything! What's the point of living anymore?" he exclaimed, turning and running his hands over the table so he could half-sit against it.

Now that he was facing her, Sam saw how his eyes stared straight ahead of him, gazing unseeing in her general direction. It pained her to see those deep, expressive brown eyes blank and emotionless. "What do you mean?"

"I've got nothing to live for! I'm an old, blind, cynical Air Force colonel who's not even fit to 'fly a desk,'" he told her intensely, his anger radiating from him and bringing emotion to his eyes at last.

"Jack, you can find a job." Sam tried to hide the fact that his words cut into her.

"Doing what?"

"I don't know, but you can learn something!"

"I don't _want_ to learn, Carter."

"You have hobbies," she tried again.

"What hobbies, Major? Fishing? Need to see for that. Hockey? Need to see for that, too. Can't possibly _look_ through a telescope if you're _blind_! Sure, I can yo-yo, but it somehow loses its appeal when you can't see it," Jack finished sarcastically.

Sam bristled at his self-pity. Forcing down her raging emotions, she said, "I'm sorry you feel that way, I won't bother you anymore."—and left the room.

* * *

Sam's tone slapped Jack across the face. And he suddenly realized the regulations were gone. "Sam, wait—" he called after her, but the sound of the door slamming shut cut him off. The ominous sound seemed to end more than just their conversation. To Jack, it seemed to kill any chance that their relationship, which had always threatened to become more than was allowed between an Air Force officer and his subordinate, could finally be pursued beyond mere friendship. 

He had been so focused on what he had lost, he hadn't thought about what he stood to gain. For once, the cliché was true; this cloud, at least, had had a silver lining. He wasn't in the Air Force anymore, so he wasn't Sam's commanding officer; the regulations didn't apply. He had finally had a chance for a romantic relationship with her, and he had blown it.

He had been a selfish jerk, ranting about there being nothing for him to live for to the one person who made his life worth living. It was his own fault; it always was—like when he had left his gun out where his son could get it, and after Charlie's death, by cutting himself off from his ex-wife, so Sara had left him.

Now, he was doing the same thing to Sam. He was destroying the one good thing that was left in his life. Sam probably thought that he didn't care about her. But he did; he loved her. Sometime in the endless darkness of his cell, he had finally admitted it to himself.

A sickening, lonely feeling settled into the pit of his stomach, and his heart ached at the thought that he had caused her to stop caring for him. She would never forgive him, not after the way he had acted. That fact brought his world tumbling down around him. Without Sam, he really didn't have anything to live for.

* * *

Daniel stretched his right arm, being careful not to move his left too much, and yawned. He shifted in his chair trying to put as little pressure as possible on the multiple cuts and bruises in his left side, wincing as they inevitably started throbbing. 

Trying to ignore the pain running up and down his body, he reached for his pen again and continued taking notes on the artifact sitting in front of him.

In an amazing display of psychic powers, Janet walked in just then, catching the pained expression on the archaeologist's face.

"Daniel!" The doctor scolded him. "You shouldn't be working. I thought I sent you home hours ago."

"Um…well…if you did, then why are you here?" he asked impishly.

She shot him a glare, but immediately belied it by breaking into a beautiful smile that Daniel would have endured a lot more pain just to see. "Because I know that you and Sam never leave without a direct order and that was more of a…strong suggestion," she replied. "Here, take these, and I don't want to see you anywhere near this office for the next twenty-four hours. Go home, Dr. Jackson."

Daniel nodded reluctantly and then gave the pills she handed him a skeptical look.

"Painkillers," Janet answered his unspoken question, her psychic abilities showing up again. "And I don't want you drinking coffee, at least until tomorrow. Take them with water." She took his coffee mug, glancing at its contents, and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Janet," Daniel said as she crossed the room, picking her way delicately through the piles of artifacts, books, and notes. He sat there for a few more minutes before gingerly lifting himself out of his chair and turning toward the door.

Janet was still standing by the doorway. "Good night, Daniel," she said with a sugar-sweet smile.

Daniel watched her go, smiling to himself. Glancing down at the pills in his hand, he pocketed them before following her to the elevator. By the time he got there, she was gone, so he waited for it to come back down from, assumedly, sub-level 21.

Stepping in, his hand hovered over the button for sub-level 25, which held the locker rooms where he could change into his civilian clothes.

Maybe he should see what Sam was doing. She would probably still be on base. Besides, he needed a ride anyway and it would do Sam good to turn in early. He knew she hadn't slept well in weeks; he certainly hadn't.

"Dr. Jackson?"

Daniel suddenly realized someone was trying to get his attention, and it wasn't the first time: he could tell by the man's tone.

"Huh? Oh, yes?" Daniel turned toward the airman who had said his name. The man was looking at him curiously, probably unused to Daniel's idiosyncrasies.

"Are you going to pick a level, Dr. Jackson?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah…sorry." Daniel licked his lips and pressed the button for sub-level 19. "What level are you…?"

"20," he replied. Daniel pushed that button, too.

A few minutes later, Daniel emerged from the elevator and followed the corridors until he reached the far end of one, where Sam's lab was. He knocked on the door.

"Come in," Sam called from inside.

Sam was sitting at her lab bench, tinkering with some device. Daniel didn't know what it was supposed to do.

"Hi, Sam," he greeted her, approaching and looking curiously at the alien technology.

"Hi, Daniel. Is there something I can help you with?" she asked; her tone seemed rushed, and Daniel hoped he hadn't interrupted a vital experiment.

"Um, well, if you're busy I'll…" He frowned at her, noticing for the first time something different about her. She seemed…distracted, but not by her work. Her eyes were red, and she had the air of someone who didn't want anyone to know she was upset about something. "Are you all right?"

Sam put on a fake smile. "I'm fine, Daniel. How's your shoulder?"

"I'm…fine. Uh, how's Jack?" he asked, deciding not to press her for now.

There was a definite change in Sam's demeanor. "He's fine," she said curtly. "I'm sorry, Daniel, but I really need to finish this, so unless you need something…?"

_She's dismissing me. Something's bothering her. What does Jack have to do with it? _Daniel thought. He had a hypothesis as to what it was.

"Sam, Jack will adjust. He's adaptable that way," he told her. Then something occurred to him. "Now that he's retired again, the regulations don't—I suppose you realized that already," he cut himself off.

Sam rather suddenly turned away from her friend, pretending to busy herself with something on the table behind her. "Yes, I had. But why would I care?" Her voice sounded strained, causing Daniel's brow to furrow in worry.

"I thought—you and Jack—um…you don't?" he asked, eyebrows fairly dancing in confusion.

Sam sniffled and cleared her throat, the first indication she was holding back tears. "The colonel's still the colonel, so why should I?"

"Oh…What did Jack do?"

"Nothing! He didn't _do_ anything. I thought…" Sam's exclamation trailed off into more sniffles as she brushed back the tears that had escaped.

"Thought what, Sam?" Daniel asked gently, coming up behind her and comfortingly putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I guess it doesn't matter anymore," she said, turning tear-filled eyes toward him. He pulled his hand back and crossed his arms over his chest as well as he could—having only one good arm—hugging himself tightly in an attempt at a posture he used a lot. "I thought…Jack…Do you remember four years ago, when we thought the colonel and I were Zatarcs?" Sam asked.

"Yes, it turned out the two of you had left something out…Was it…?" His eyes widened at the implications. He suspected that it had had something to do with Sam and Jack's relationship—and Janet had hinted—but this confirmed it.

Sam nodded. "Jack said…" She took a deep breath. "That he…cared about me a lot more than regulations allowed." She dropped her gaze; her tears streaming freely now.

"I assume you said something similar," Daniel said.

Sam nodded. "All I could think was, if only Jack survived, it would be alright if _I_ died. At least he would be safe." Daniel reached out and pulled the blonde astrophysicist toward him, wrapping his arms around her. She laid her head on his shoulder. "I thought that Jack cared about me…but I was wrong." She buried her face in his shoulder and cried.

Daniel whispered comforting things to her. _When I catch Jack, I'm going to kill him!_ Daniel thought. Sam was like a sister to him and Jack was like an older brother; an older brother who could be a jerk sometimes. Daniel understood that it must be hard for him to adjust to everything that had happened, but that was no excuse for hurting Sam like this. He wondered if Jack even knew he had.

Sam pulled away, wiping at her tears. "Thanks. I'm sorry for dumping all this on you."

"You're welcome; it's what friends are for," Daniel dismissed it as a common occurrence, pushing his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose with his index finger. "Sam, Jack does care about you. If you ask me, I think he's head over heels in _love_ with you, but you know Jack, he can…well, he can be a little dense sometimes."

"Don't let the dumb act fool you," Sam said bitterly. "He spelled it out to me, loud and clear." She was angry now.

"Maybe you should talk to him about it."

Sam shot him a look that said, "Whose side are you on?", causing Daniel to half-cross his arms again. "What's there to talk to him about? He might have cared about me once, but not anymore. It's been three years." Sam wiped at her face again, trying to clean it and headed for the door. "I'll be alright. See you tomorrow, Daniel." And she was gone.

"Or, _I_ could talk to him," Daniel said to the empty room.

* * *

On his way to Jack's room, Daniel stopped by the commissary to get some water and take the painkillers Janet had given him. 

He arrived in corridor R3 to find two airmen standing outside what Daniel assumed was Jack's door.

"How did you get assigned to colonel-sitting duty?" one of the men asked the other.

"Isn't that a little harsh, Wilson?" the second man asked.

"Nah, you won't think that after you've been here for a few hours. Colonel O'Neill's never been the most likable person, but since he went blind, he's been downright…cantankerous. And he's gotten worse since Major Carter came to see him a few hours ago. I don't know what's up with those two," Wilson complained.

_I guess Jack does realize how much he's hurt Sam,_ Daniel thought.

"Should you really be talking about the colonel that way?" the other airman asked.

"O'Neill's not Air Force anymore. You could say anything about him you wanted to. In fact I think General Hammond gave him way too much leniency—Dr. Jackson!" The man's expression was the epitome of guilt as he noticed Daniel.

"Airmen," Daniel said simply, knocking on the door. "Jack, it's Daniel," the linguist said, in answer to Jack's surly reply to the sound.

"Come in," Jack called, and Daniel did.

Jack was sprawled on his bed, looking bored to death. He sat up as Daniel greeted him. "Hi, Jack."

"Hey, Danny," Jack answered dryly.

"Uh…you…how…are you?" Daniel asked, hesitatingly, hugging himself with one arm again.

"Oh, just _peachy_." Jack's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "You know, the room service here is really great. And there's just so much to _do_."

"Did you need—"

"Don't—say it!" Jack said, raising his hands in protest. "What do you want, Daniel?" he asked sharply.

Daniel took his friend's rude tone in stride. "Jack, you should at least try to be civil. We all missed you, especially Sam."

Jack's face hardened noticeably, "She may have, but—Look, Daniel, if you want to talk curling or something go ahead, but I'm sick and tired of people asking if I need anything," Jack said, changing the subject suddenly. "If that's what you're here for…don't bother."

"I, uh, came to talk," Daniel told him, licking his lips.

"Oh, here we go!" Jack exclaimed, sitting up. "I thought I told you _explicitly_ what I thought of this whole feelings sharing thing," he said, referring to the time when he had been on a covert mission he couldn't share with the rest of his team. He had been acting uncharacteristically and Daniel had come over to talk.

_Jack was sitting in his living room playing chess with himself when the doorbell rang. Getting up, a beer in hand, he opened the door._

"_Hi," Daniel greeted him, looking a little uneasy._

"_What do you want?" Jack answered sourly._

"_I'm not, uh, I'm not sure, to tell you the truth. I'm here to talk, I guess."_

"_So talk," was Jack's curt reply, not letting him in, but staring at him impassively. He took a swig of his beer._

"_You got another one of those?" the archaeologist asked, in an obvious attempt to get Jack to let him in._

"_Yeah," Jack answered obstinately._

"_Feel like sharing?" Daniel tried again._

"_Beer? Sure."_

_Jack went into the kitchen, leaving Daniel to come in if he wanted. Daniel took a seat in the living room. Jack came out a few minutes later, bottle in hand._

"_So? How are you feeling about all this?" Daniel started._

"_Yes to the beer. No to the feelings," Jack said._

The rest of their conversation hadn't gone much better, ending with Jack saying there was no foundation to their friendship. Daniel had been relieved to find out it had been an act for whomever had bugged Jack's house.

"Well, I _thought_ it had all been an act," Daniel returned, "So I disregard that conversation."

"Most of it _was_ an act. But not that part; everything after that _was—_except…we're all right with that, aren't we?" he trailed off, changing the subject again.

"We are," Daniel replied. He thought for a moment. "Jack, what did you say to Sam?"

The abrupt topic change—a taste of his own medicine—threw Jack off for a moment. His unseeing eyes darted around for a second, before settling straight ahead again. Recovering quickly, his omnipresent sarcasm laced his tone, "'Hi, Carter. How ya been? Get any fishing in, lately?' That sort of thing," Jack replied flippantly.

"Jack…" Daniel said, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"Daniel," Jack replied warningly.

Daniel decided to try the blunt approach. "Jack, I found Sam crying in her lab. She'd probably kill me if she knew I'd told you," he said, his words coming out in a rush. "I don't know what you said or why you said it, but she's hurting, and I think you are too," he said, fervently gesticulating.

Jack twitched, but he patched the crack in his stoic demeanor almost immediately. "Daniel, stick to archaeology," he said unkindly. Standing up, he started following the wall with his hand, turning his back on his friend.

"Jack…She thinks you don't care about her anymore. I know you do—"

"Daniel!" Jack yelled, turning back, allowing the younger man to see the turmoil in his eyes. "Don't you think I know! I've been torturing myself since she left. Sam—Sam has every right to hate me!" Jack admitted, "I _love_ her, Daniel."

"Then tell her, Jack."

"I can't!" Jack told him angrily, turning again to slam his fist against the concrete wall. Daniel cringed at what the action must have done to his hand. "She'll never forgive me! Besides she deserves better," he said despairingly.

"What…happened?"

"I'm a jerk. Leave it at that," Jack growled. "I was frustrated and wasn't thinking. I forgot who I was talking to."

Daniel sighed. "Jack, Sam will understand. Just talk to her."

The only response he got was Jack flexing the hand he had jammed into the concrete. Knowing his stubborn friend could stonewall with the best of them, Daniel left, hoping Jack would come to his senses before he caused Sam, and himself, any more pain.

* * *

Author's Note: Poor Jack and Sam. Jack really needs to work on his people skills. Let's hope Daniel has knocked some sense into him. Not that I don't know whether he does. Grins Don't worry I'm not stopping here. I was going to, but chapter ten really needs to be by itself so I've decided to give you nine now and ten tomorrow. Ten's not that much longer than most of the chapters, but a lot of things go on in it. Eleven and the epilogue will be in the same chapter because the epilogue is short. Keep the reviews coming, please. Thanks! 


	10. Chapter Nine

Author's Note:** Small spoilers for Abyss.** I forgot about them.

**

* * *

Chapter Nine**

Jack got himself ready for bed with difficulty. Dressed in the sweatpants and Air Force T-shirt he usually wore to bed, he made his way along the wall. He rubbed his sore hand. Janet had wrapped it up for him. When he had injured his hand, he had relished the pain with the thought that he deserved much worse.

As he settled under the covers, he tried to ignore the ache that had been in his heart since he had effectively ended his relationship with Sam. Thinking about the way her hand had felt in his, the connection she had provided with the world he couldn't see, he felt alone. Squeezing his eyes shut, he pushed those thoughts away. Cliché though it was, Jack had to concede: it was going to be a long night.

_Gold walls; pillared corridors; melodramatic throne rooms; the bright light of that dreaded Goa'uld machine, the sarcophagus: Jack shivered at the sight of them._

_Baal studied him through narrow eyes. "What was the Tok'ra's mission here?" he demanded, the knife in his hand pointed unerringly at Jack chest, gravity pulling it toward his helpless victim._

_Jack winced, and Atê brushed her coal black hair back over her shoulder with one pale hand, her other fingering a zatn'kitel. "We have new ways of learning what we want. You will perhaps find them more appealing." The Goa'uld laughed, sending another shiver down Jack's spine. "They are not as crude as those of our counterparts."_

_Arming the Zat, she walked up to him. "I find this way most effective." Pointing it directly in his face, she fired it, sending a searing pain through his eyes with the blinding flash._

_Sam sat curled up in a corner, arms wrapped around her knees, her eyes mirror images of his own seven years ago when his son had died: it was the look of someone who didn't have the will to live anymore._

_Jack knew immediately it was his fault._

He awoke in a cold sweat, fumbling around in the dark for a light. He stopped, belatedly realizing it wouldn't have helped even if he could find the light. He was shaking all over, trying to clear the image of Sam's sky blue eyes bereft of emotion from his mind.

_Is that what will happen? Did I hurt her that much?_ Jack thought despondently.

_Don't flatter yourself, O'Neill. She'll get over you, easy,_ he rebuked himself halfheartedly.

He couldn't help but wonder if Daniel was right; maybe she would be able to forgive him.

Jack stared into the darkness for a moment. Either way, he decided at last, he owed it to her to apologize.

* * *

Jack woke up to someone knocking on his door. Grumbling under his breath, he stepped onto the cold floor and padded around the room, following the wall to the door. 

Opening it, he did his best to glare at the person on the other side without being able to look at them. "What do you want?"

"Hello, Colonel," Janet Fraiser's voice came back cheerfully.

"Doc, no one has any right to be that cheerful this early in the morning," he complained, jabbing two fingers in her general direction.

"Colonel, it's 1100 hours," she replied, infuriatingly grabbing onto his fingers and bringing them down and to the right to—Jack assumed—point at her.

"What? Oh, for crying out loud! Can't see the clock."

"Even if you could, Sir, it wouldn't help; there isn't a clock in here. You'll find you sleep later since there's no light to wake you up. Though, that's a problem for anyone in the mountain." Janet handed him something. "It's a watch. If you press the button, it tells you the time. I've got some other things for you, Sir, but you'll probably want to get dressed first."

Jack fingered the watch dejectedly. "Yeah, come back in fi—" He had been going to say five minutes, but it took him longer now. "You know, better make it ten."

"Yes, Sir."

Jack had declined the offer for clothes from his house, he was perfectly comfortable in BDU's, and he wasn't exactly sure how he was going to tell which piece of clothing was which. He had discovered shaving was a big problem that had taken him the first few days to do without cutting himself. As it turned out, it took him over twenty minutes, according to Janet's gift.

Janet knocked on his door fifteen minutes later than Jack had suggested.

"Thanks, Doc," Jack said sarcastically. "Your faith in my abilities is touching."

"Can I come in?" Janet asked, ignoring his jeering as always.

"Sure." She stepped past him, her heels clicking against the floor. He closed the door and made his way around the room toward the pile of furniture. "Pull out a chair."

Janet's heels sounded again followed by the feet of a chair against the concrete floor. "You're serious," Janet said as she realized the truth of his statement. There were more sounds as she yanked on the chair to disentangle it from the pile.

"I'm always serious," Jack quipped.

After a few more minutes of noise, she took his hand and put it on a chair. "Here. Mine's right in front of it."

Janet's heels told Jack she was walking across the room as he sat down. More heel-clicking brought her back. She handed him a book. "That is a book on how to read Braille."

"A book on how to read Braille?" Jack asked incredulously.

"And if you hold this over a book it will read the words to you," Janet continued as if he had never spoken.

"Shouldn't that have been the other way 'round?" Janet didn't answer, but her heels clicked some more. "What do I need to know Braille for if I have this?" Jack continued, holding up the book-reading device.

"You don't want to have to carry that with you everywhere, Sir."

"To bad everyone doesn't wear high heels; it'd be easier to tell when people are coming," Jack commented wryly as Janet walked toward him again.

Janet sucked in her breath in a way that gave Jack the impression she had been going to say something but couldn't think of anything to say. "Colonel," she said warningly instead. "Here. I'll take you to someone who can show you how to use it properly tomorrow," she said, handing him a long, thin cane.

Jack ran his fingers over it. It was metal, aluminum probably, and could be folded. "They have _schools_ for this sort of thing?" he sneered.

"You'll be able to go home in a few days," Janet said, her heels clacking again. She was heading for the door, Jack decided.

He pushed aside his bravado for a second. "Thanks, Janet."

* * *

As Jack sat alone in his room, his mind started to drift toward Sam, the memory of his dream superimposed on his thoughts of her. 

Finally, he stood up and found his way to a wall. Hoping he hadn't disoriented himself, he started heading toward the door. He hadn't and he found the door where it should've been.

"Colonel O'Neill? Can I help you with anything?" the airman asked helpfully.

"Elevator," Jack said, begrudgingly accepting the man's help.

"Very good, Sir." The airman took his arm and Jack was infinitely glad that this particular corridor was usually empty.

Scowling, Jack wished all sorts of ill will on the Goa'uld; unfortunately, he couldn't help the SGC deliver it _because_ of what the Goa'uld had done to him. The airman stopped. Jack shook off his hand.

"What level, Sir?"

"Sub-level 19."

"Yes, Sir." The elevator started and Jack ignored the airman, a feat that wasn't difficult since he couldn't see him—that is, until the other man spoke, "Going to Major Carter's lab, Sir?"

"No, Dr. Felger's." Jack fought to keep the grin off his face at the flabbergasted noises the airman was making. He tried not to think about not being able to see his face.

"W-Why, Sir?" the airman asked at last.

"I'm going to have him explain to me the…instabilities of the space-time continuum and the effect it has on hyperspace window generators," Jack deadpanned.

"But, Sir, you—Did you say the space-time continuum?" Just then, the doors to the elevator opened.

"Thank you, airman. You're dismissed," Jack said as he stepped out of the elevator.

"But, Sir—"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Jack held up his hands, not turning around. "Don't worry; I won't let them court-martial you for losing your charge."

"My—Court-martial, Sir?" the airman gasped.

Jack ignored him, smirking to himself, and started down the hall.

The idea in and of itself sounded simple, but Jack was standing in the middle of nowhere with no way of telling how far he had gotten or if he was about to bang into Sam's door instead of walk through it. And this hall was occupied; he could hear the muffled voices echoing down the hall along with footsteps and the noise of machinery.

He hated being blind, hated it with a vengeance. His blindness made him helpless, and helplessness was not a state he enjoyed. Under the circumstances, he wished he knew how to use Janet's stick.

Determined to do this, he moved slowly to his right, stretching out his hand to find the wall. It was farther away than he had originally guessed. Using it as a guide, he started forward, feeling a little less like he was floundering in the dark, which he was.

As he moved along, he would occasionally reach an open doorway and have to find the other side, moving his hand through the empty air, hoping he didn't look too ridiculous. After about twenty minutes of floundering, a strong hand took his arm.

"Do you need assistance, O'Neill?" It was Teal'c.

"Oh, hi, Teal'c. Do I looklike I need assistance?" Jack replied.

"Indeed you do."

"Well, I…alright, fine, you've convinced me, I do," he admitted as if Teal'c had gone to great lengths to persuade him. "I'm trying to get to Carter's lab."

"Did Doctor Fraiser not post airmen to escort you?"

"She did, but they drive me crazy. Look, just point me in the right direction and give me a push."

"I do not believe that would be adequate, O'Neill."

Jack shot him a look that said, "Ya think?" or at least tried to. "Carter's lab, Teal'c," Jack said, reluctantly offering the Jaffa his arm.

Teal'c didn't take it, but instead put his hand on Jack's shoulder and lead him that way. Jack wasn't sure which he liked better; both were rather degrading. They reached Sam's lab a few minutes later and Teal'c said he would be back.

Sam's thoughts were similarly straying from the work in front of her to the disabled ex-colonel in a room six floors below her. As much as she tried not to, she couldn't help thinking that maybe Daniel was right. Jack had been known to say things he didn't mean before. Maybe he just hadn't realized the implications of his retirement yet. She knew it was wishful thinking, but she hated to think she had been wrong about Jack.

There was a knock on her door that startled her. "Come in," she called.

The door opened and Jack took some careful steps inside. _Speak of the devil._

"Carter?" Jack asked searchingly.

"Over here, Sir." Sam got up and took his arm, leading him to a stool.

"Carter…" Jack said warningly.

"Sorry. Jack," Sam corrected herself. Jack's hands moved over the seat before he sat down. Sam pulled her stool around to sit in front of him. "Did you come all that way…by yourself?" Sam winced a little at the way that sounded. She wondered why she cared, but as she watched him struggle without his sight, it was hard to stay mad at him.

If Jack was bothered by her question, he didn't let it show. "Nah, Teal'c met me halfway and insisted on…" He searched for a different word, but finally gave up and settled on the one he had thought of originally: "…assisting."

"Ah," Sam said. _If you're not here to apologize, let me work,_ Sam thought in his direction, but she didn't really mean it.

"Whatcha doin'?" Jack asked causally, but Sam could feel the tension in the room.

"I'm running a simulation on the uses of naquadria in…" Sam launched into a detailed description of the tests she was running. About halfway through, she remembered who it was she was talking to. She glanced at Jack as she continued. He was just sitting there on the stool, staring directly ahead, running a finger along the edge of Sam's work surface. The look in his eyes caught her attention, causing her to falter slightly. He had an almost…dreamy look in his eyes, and Sam wondered what it was that had caused it.

When she reached the end of her explanation, she was surprised that he hadn't said anything. His eyes didn't glaze over; he didn't raise his hands in protest; he didn't try to stop her, or even look confused.

His expression cleared suddenly, and he jerked his head slightly as if he only just realized she had stopped. His face hardened a bit, and he gave the usual reaction.

"That's—" He blew out a breath. "—great, Carter." There was an awkward silence. Jack moved his hand over the counter. "Sam," he said, his tone sincere—one she barely ever heard.

Sam's spirits soared. _Is he apologizing?_

"I wanted to—" His fidgety fingers came in contact with one of Sam's scanners. It was a rectangular box, about six inches long and an inch high. He cut off mid-sentence and, picking it up, he started fiddling with it. "So, this is what you do all day." Jack's voice changed back to its usual edge-of-sarcasm tone.

"Sir?" Sam frowned. Her anger flared, mixed with confusion. _I guess not. What the heck is he getting at?_

"I didn't even realize you had one of these."

"Of course, I do—"

"Don't worry; I won't tell Hammond. I've been playing Nintendo Game Boy instead of working, for years." Jack delivered the punch line of his corny joke straight faced.

Sam broke into a grin despite herself. It did kind of look like a Nintendo Game Boy, and she could never help smiling at Jack's jokes, no matter how bad. Smiling seemed to banish the tension as she momentarily forgot everything that had happened during the past few days.

"Are you…smiling?" Jack asked tentatively, in a tone she had never heard before. He looked pained, and Sam had to wonder if his emotional barriers were weaker for his lack of sight.

"Yes…" she replied, confused. Her smile turned into a bemused frown.

Jack lay the scanner down again. "Could I…" He didn't finish his hesitant sentence. His hand moved off the counter to flail toward her. She caught it. Sam watched in bewilderment as Jack slowly moved his hand from hers, up her arm.

As he reached her shoulder, she wondered whether or not she should be worried, what with the way he had treated her. She was trained in military combat, but he had that same training; plus, he had been in Special Forces and was stronger than she was. Despite those thoughts, she really didn't feel like she was in any danger.

Her breath quickened as he moved his hand up her neck. "Jack?" she breathed.

He ran his fingers up into her hair, and then brought them down to brush over her forehead, her nose. Her eyes fluttered closed. She trembled at the feelings he was invoking in her. His thumb caressed her cheek, and then he let it trace her jaw. His fingertips moved gently to outline her mouth and touch her lips. "Smile," he whispered, and suddenly she realized what he was doing. He couldn't see her smile, but he wanted to, and so he was trying to feel it instead.

She forced a smile on her lips. Her heart was pounding—

Jack pulled his fingers back; the realization of what he had been doing crossed his etched features and widened his coffee-brown eyes. He stood up suddenly, turning his back on her.

"I'm sorry," was all he muttered as he made his way as quickly as possible out the door, leaving Sam more confused than ever.

* * *

Author's Note: Two more chapters left, folks! Opinions, thoughts, criticisms? 


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

General Hammond sat in his office, reports and other military records spread out on his desk in front of him. The task he was tackling at the moment was trying to choose a replacement for Colonel O'Neill as second-in-command of the SGC.

Hammond sighed, looking up from the personnel records and leaning back in his chair.

He couldn't imagine what Jack was going through. It was a scary thing to go blind and lose your mobility, to lose control of your life, especially for someone like Jack. He was a man of action and of very few words. He disliked looking vulnerable.

Hammond's gaze rested on a television sitting on a wheeled stand at the far end of the room. In the VCR was a recording of O'Neill's debriefing on the mission to P8X-345 and his subsequent capture.

Picking the remote up off his desk, George pressed play. He had already gone over the tape once.

Colonel O'Neill was sitting at the briefing room table, across from the video camera. Even on the recording, you could tell he couldn't see anything, just by the way his eyes didn't move.

Hammond's voice came from off camera, _Whenever you're ready, Colonel._

_We arrived on P8X-345, and Daniel and Carter got started doing their thing,_ O'Neill started flippantly. Then he continued in a more serious voice. Hammond noticed this time around that Jack's tone seemed to change slightly as he said Major Carter's name.

The general found himself entranced watching O'Neill's sightless eyes. They moved ever so slightly once in a while, especially when someone spoke, but mostly they remained motionless.

_I found myself separated from my team,_ the colonel was saying, _Jaffa were everywhere. We were pinned down. I ordered them back to the 'gate._ Jack's voice didn't change this time, but his eyes were suddenly full of emotion. Hammond had noticed this before, too. He wasn't sure what Jack wasn't telling him, but whatever it was, it was enough to break through the colonel's emotional barriers. Or was it? Maybe when he lost his sight, he lost the ability to keep his emotions from his eyes as he kept them from his face.

_The next thing I knew I was in one of those dang sarcophaguses._ Jack shivered visibly. _I was taken before a goold. She shot me in the face with a Zat,_ Jack hesitated. _I woke up…in the dark. I…don't remember anything else until I woke up again in the infirmary._

Hammond heard himself thank O'Neill; and right before the tape ran itself out, he just barely heard Jack mutter under his breath, _Gosh, I hate the Goold!_

Hammond pulled O'Neill's medical report out of the pile on his desk.

Doctor Fraiser had been interested to hear that a zatn'kitel had caused the colonel's blindness. _That explains a lot, s_he had said. Unfortunately, it hadn't changed Jack's condition; there was still no way to fix it.

Sighing again, George put the medical file away and, turning back to the personnel records, wished, not for the first time, none of this had happened.

* * *

Janet led Jack to the briefing room. General Hammond wanted to see him. Jack had tried the first few minutes of their trip to get out of the good doctor what exactly the general wanted, but Janet wouldn't tell him anything.

"Hello, Jack," Hammond greeted him. "Have a seat."

"George," Jack returned as Janet laid his hand on a chair. "What can a blind, retired colonel do for you?" he asked, sitting down.

Jack heard Hammond sigh at his cynicism. "Dr. Fraiser tells me she's given you a clean bill of health."

"Such as it is, yes."

"If you're ready, you can go home. I'll assign an airman to help you out and drive you around until you've found a more permanent solution," Hammond told him.

Jack mentally scowled. "I'd prefer a member of my team, Sir."

"Dr. Jackson is currently in no condition to drive himself, let alone you."

"Teal'c can drive, General," Jack said hopefully.

"Teal'c doesn't have a driver's license, Colonel. That just leaves Major Carter."

_That's no good,_ Jack thought, _Not after the way I've been acting and that stunt I pulled on her in her lab…_ Than again, having Sam there would provide him with an opportunity to apologize, though it would also cause awkward silences—which he hated. He wanted to spend time with her, but not with the tension that had built between them. _She's better than some airman, isn't she?_

_No, _another part of his mind said, _I obviously don't have any control over myself around her._

_Well, I can't refuse Sam after I specifically asked for a member of my team; she hates me enough._

"Very good, Sir," Jack said, trying not to sound too against the idea.

* * *

Sam covertly glanced from the road to her charge in the seat beside her—an unnecessary precaution, considering he was blind. Jack was sitting in the passenger seat of her silver Volvo, fingers drumming restlessly on the armrest. She could tell, by the way he kept scrunching up his face, that he didn't like this arrangement one bit.

_That's okay; I don't like it either,_ she thought, _Just grin and bear it, Sam._

When General Hammond had asked her to do it, she had considered refusing, but who knew what Jack would think of that. She still couldn't figure out why she cared what Jack thought, but she did.

She was so confused. A bundle of emotions was all tangled up inside her. She could back-engineer alien technology without too much of a problem, but Jack O'Neill always left her lost and confused. He was a puzzle all right, one she had been trying to solve since that day she walked into that first briefing and challenged him to an arm-wrestling match. Her first impression of him had been of an arrogant male chauvinist who had no respect for anyone. She had been wrong then, but she had a feeling that he gave most people the wrong impression when they first met him. In fact, she had seen him do it on purpose hundreds of times.

She was mad at him, but at the same time, she was still in love with him. She wanted to yell at him, call him a jerk, slap him, but at the same time, she would give anything to kiss him. She was getting a headache trying to sort her feelings out. She wished he would just explain it to her straight out. Whether he told her he was in love with her and that it had all been a big misunderstanding, or he said he didn't love her anymore or that he never did, she would be satisfied as long as he told her the truth, no matter how painful.

"So…" Jack said awkwardly.

"So," Sam replied just as awkwardly.

"…Daniel says you haven't been off base since I…died."

"Yes, Sir—Jack. I…had a lot of work to do."

"Ah." Jack lapsed back into silence and Sam wracked her brain for something to say.

"I'm going to say this one more time," he spoke up, "Didn't I _order_ you to get a life?"

Jack's tone, one of exasperation she had heard hundreds of times before without it bothering her, this time for some reason struck a chord, causing her anger to flair up. "I'm sorry; I didn't realize those orders still applied after you'd died!" she bit out.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jack's face harden in response. For a moment, she thought he was going to come back with some angry retort, but he hung his head a second and said quietly, "Sorry…I didn't mean it like that. I sometimes forget to think before I talk."

Sam was a little surprised at his honesty. She wondered if his latter statement applied to what had happened the other day. "It's alright; I shouldn't have jumped at you like that," Sam said.

The awkward silence thickened. Jack cleared his throat, "So, pull any brilliant ideas out of your…head lately?" Jack asked. The slight pause before he said the word "head" was a subtle reference to the time he had used a different word before correcting himself; it was an obvious attempt to ease the tension.

It worked. Sam started to giggle, causing Jack to smile at her, and for a while, she forgot what he had done. "No, not really," she answered his question, still smiling. Jack's smile faded to a melancholy expression.

Sam felt sorry for him. It was a gorgeous day, she had the windows rolled down, the sun was shining pleasantly, and Jack was missing it all.

Sam pulled the Volvo into Jack's driveway and turned off the ignition. She watched as Jack's fingers found the button to release his seatbelt. Then getting out, she went around her car to help him into the house.

"Take the back way via the deck," Jack told her. Then, as she led him toward it, he added, "I've got this neighbor, Mrs. Sanders. Nice little old lady, but a bit nosey, and I don't feel like answering her questions right now."

As if hearing him, an old woman entered the driveway coming toward them. "Jonathan!" she called, causing Jack to wince.

"Mrs. Sanders," Jack greeted her with put-on cheerfulness, slipping his arm out of Sam's grasp. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm fine, dear. Who's your friend?" Mrs. Sanders' tone told Sam that Jack's attempt to hide the fact that she had been holding his arm had failed.

"This is Major Carter, a co-worker. Major, my neighbor, Mrs. Sanders."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Sanders. You can call me Sam." She offered the old woman her hand.

"Nice to meet you too, honey. And please, call me Bertha. I've tried to get Jonathan to, but he's just so darn stubborn," she said with a sweet smile.

"Yes, that would be me, Jonathan 'pig-headed' O'Neill," he muttered under his breath in a self- berating tone.

"Now, now, I didn't mean it like that," Mrs. Sanders chided him. She frowned a bit and looked at him closer. "Jonathan, is there something wrong?"

Jack sighed resignedly. "Yes, there was an accident at the place I work."

"That base where you study…" Mrs. Sanders started.

"Deep space radar telemetry, yeah."

"What happened?" she asked, sounding alarmed.

Jack grimaced. Sam interrupted, saving him from the awkward situation. "Bertha, Colonel O'Neill needs to rest. I'll come by your house a little later and explain everything to you, alright?"

"Of course. Get some rest, Jonathan. If you want, I'll call your parents and—"

"No! That's okay. I'll call them myself," Jack was quick to say.

"Alright, dear, I'll see you later."

* * *

When Sam returned from Mrs. Sanders' house about twenty minutes later, Jack called to her, "Carter? That you?" 

"Yes, Sir," she replied out of habit.

Off the main hallway where she stood, the living room was down a few steps to her left, and the kitchen was through a doorway to her right. The dining room was directly in front of her, with a doorway into the kitchen on the right. The wall separating the dining room from the living room had a large, glassless window so you could see into it. The dining room table, which last time she had been there had been covered in week-old fast food packaging, was surprisingly clean.

She found Jack rummaging around in his kitchen, most likely trying to get a feel of where everything was.

"Carter?"

"Yes?" she replied, leaning against the counter, which appeared to have collected the containers the dining room table hadn't, and watching him.

"Thanks for the save back there. Mrs. Sanders can get a little…_overprotective_," Jack said, throwing out some Chinese food cartons that had probably been there for a while.

"I did have to do a lot of persuading to convince her that I could take care of—that you were fine," Sam corrected herself, clearing the counter behind her of the traces of tired nights after long missions that came in the form of take-out wrappers and pizza boxes.

"So, you hungry?" Jack asked, "We could order a pizza."

"Do you _ever_ cook, Colonel?" Sam asked.

"Sure, I made…" He blew out his breath, as he couldn't think of an example. "How about Chinese?"

Sam laughed. "I'll make you something, Jack."

"_You_ can cook?"

"Well, I'm no gourmet chef, but I can make something better than Chinese food and pizza."

Jack made a skeptical face. "I don't know…What did you have in mind?"

"Well, since you haven't had a home-cooked meal in a while, and I've been eating commissary food for weeks, I was thinking—" She opened and closed a couple cabinets, trying to see what he had in the way of food. "—Macaroni and Cheese?" she suggested dubiously when the only thing she found was a few boxes of it.

The corners of Jack's mouth twitched into a smile. "I meant to go to the store," Jack defended his sparse pantries with his usual irony. "Besides I _like_ pizza and Chinese."

"Where are the pots?" Sam asked, smiling.

"Second cabinet, right of the sink." Jack started to feel his way toward the dining room as Sam pulled out a pot, filled it with water, and set it on the stove.

While the water was boiling, Sam cleaned up the kitchen a little. When the food was finished cooking, and Sam had set the table, she called for her former-CO, "Jack! Food's ready."

Jack came out of the living room. "Mmm, such delicacies."

Sam smiled. They sat down at the table across from each other. Jack found his fork with his right hand and his plate with his left. Carefully, he stabbed the fork on to the plate and then brought it to his mouth. He grimaced in annoyance when he realized there was nothing on it.

Sam wished there were some way she could help him. "Jack, when you woke up in the infirmary you said something about Daniel saying you were blind. What did you mean?"

"Daniel? I hadn't even seen Daniel yet. He was in surgery, right?"

"Yes, Sir."

"I don't remember." Jack shrugged.

Silence ensued, and Sam watched Jack continue to struggle with his food.

"Have you…seen Cassie recently?" Jack asked.

"No, but Janet told me she wanted to come over and see you."

Jack scraped at his plate, methodically checking every inch for macaroni. "I don't know if that's a good idea. I know she's busy, what with high school and all."

_He doesn't want her to see him like this. Cassandra has always looked up to him, and he doesn't want her to see him so helpless,_ Sam realized, _How like my dad._

Sam looked at Jack's plate. "It's empty," she told him.

"Thanks," he muttered, though he didn't sound grateful. He stood up and, picking up his plate, felt his way into the kitchen.

Sam followed, bringing her own plate. Jack found the sink and put his dishes in it. "I'll wash the dishes for you," Sam suggested, putting her own down to join his.

"No, that's all right, leave them," Jack said, a bit firmly. "You want some ice cream or a beer or something?" he offered, feeling along the counter toward the refrigerator. Sam stepped out of his way.

The refrigerator was practically empty, with only a few jars of various condiments and some milk, which was probably sour, considering how long Jack had been missing.

"I'll go to the store, if you're settled here," she said, trying again to help him.

"Thanks, Carter, but I'm fine. Like I said, I like fast food."

Sam glared at him. "Why won't you let me help you? You're so much like my father! If you can't stoop so low as to accept help, I don't know why I'm here!" she blurted angrily.

Jack seemed taken aback. He obviously hadn't expected that response. "Carter, I don't need your help. I'm a grown man and I can take care of myself," he said sternly.

"Fine! If you don't want me here, I'll go! I'll tell General Hammond to send an airman to be your chauffeur. I have work to do, anyway," she told him, storming out of the kitchen. She couldn't believe him, asking her here and then not letting her help him.

She was in the main hall when Jack called to her, "Sam, wait!" She stopped and turned around.

Jack, being the military man that he was, had thought to take the shortcut straight into the hall instead of following her through the dining room and was coming toward her with one hand on the wall to his left. She waited.

He stopped three feet from her. "Sam?"

"What?" she said harshly, tired of dealing with his stubbornness.

"What I said the other day, about having nothing to live for…I didn't mean it. I wasn't thinking and—" Jack stumbled awkwardly over what he was trying to say, but Sam interrupted him.

"Jack, I understand."

"You do?" The familiar confused expression crossed his face; the one he always wore when she tried to explain something scientific to him.

"Yes, you don't have to explain away what you said. You don't care about me anymore, and I've accepted that. I just wish you'd told me straight out."

"What? No, I—"

"Good-bye, Colonel." She took another step toward the door.

"Major!" Jack barked, putting all the force of his years as an Air Force colonel into his voice, and bringing Sam to an abrupt, conditioned stop. "Come here and listen," he ordered, holding out his hand.

Sam glared at him, but stepped closer and hesitatingly took his hand.

Sure that she was there, he let go. "Hear me out. Sam, I…I'm a stubborn jerk, and…I was so caught up in myself that I completely forgot about you and our 'situation.' I do care about you. I know you can't forgive me, but I…I'm sorry," he told her sincerely.

Sam felt her anger fading. Looking into his eyes, it vanished completely. They were filled with self-loathing. "I can forgive you, Jack," Sam said, taking his hand again.

"How?" he asked seriously.

Sam laughed, making Jack smile ruefully. Sam lifted his hand to her face and watched as Jack's expression changed to one of surprise. He traced his fingers along her genuine smile. His eyes were sorrowful at his lack of sight, but his expression was grateful.

"Sam," he said softly, cupping her cheek in his hand, "I love you."

Sam's eyes widened, she had never expected him to say that. She could see the truth of his statement clearly in his chocolate brown eyes. "I love you, too," she breathed.

Jack used the hand on her cheek to tilt her face toward his. Carefully, he leaned toward her. Sam met him halfway, kissing him. Jack returned it, bringing his other hand down to wrap around her waist. They were soon lost in a kiss full of four years repressed feelings and love that had been growing since they had met seven years before.

"I have to ask," Jack said as they broke the kiss, "_Why_ do you love me? You deserve better."

The only answer she gave him was another kiss.

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks for all the great reviews! I can't believe everybody likes this so much! Here are two universal truths: Jack loves Sam. Sam loves Jack. Grins I'm so excited about posting this story I'm going to give you guys the end now, instead of tomorrow. Enjoy! 


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

Jack's long, white cane tapped rhythmically against the sidewalk. Listening to the cars driving on his right, counting roads and other landmarks that he passed, he reached his destination: a small coffee shop. He pushed open the door.

"Jack!" Sam's voice greeted him as he took a few steps away from the door and to the right. He heard sneaker-clad footsteps coming in his direction as he folded up his cane. Sam's ring-adorned hand slipped into his.

"Good morning, Lovey," Jack greeted his fiancée with a mediocre impression of "the Millionaire" from _Gilligan's Island_. He brought his hand up over her arm to her chin and kissed her.

She took his hand again and led him over to a table. They ordered coffee and struck up a conversation easily, Sam laughing often at Jack's numerous jokes.

It had been four months since Jack had gone blind, and the week before, Jack had asked Sam to marry him.

"I don't deserve you," he told her sincerely.

"Yes, you do, Jack," Sam replied.

"Don't think so little of yourself," Jack said. He took a sip of his coffee.

"If you have such trouble convincing yourself, how do you expect to convince my father?"

Jack choked on his coffee, coming inches away from spraying it all over his fiancée. Sam grinned, at his startled expression.

"What!"

* * *

Jacob Carter stepped from the Stargate event horizon. At the bottom of the ramp stood his daughter, her former CO, George Hammond, Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c.

"Hi, Sweetheart," he greeted Sam with a hug.

"Hi, Dad." She smiled brightly.

"Hi, Dad," Jack said, grinning wryly.

"Jack." Jacob gave the blind, former Air Force colonel a wary look.

_He and Sam have been going out for a while, but they're not…_

_I am sure he is just being Jack O'Neill,_ Selmak told her host, trying to reassure them both.

_I can never tell what that man is thinking,_ Jacob thought, frustrated.

"Hello, George," he said, turning his attention to the other occupants of the room. After greeting the archaeologist and the Jaffa as well, he turned to Sam. "You said there was something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Actually, Dad…" Sam started, glancing at Jack.

"Actually, _I_ wanted to talk to you," Jack interrupted her, worry crossing his expression before it went impassive again.

"You?" Jacob asked incredulously.

_Uh, oh,_ Selmak echoed her host's thoughts.

"Yeah, is there somewhere we could talk?" Jack asked.

"You can use my office if you like, Jack," George offered.

"Thanks, George," Jack said. "I'm sure you want to spend sometime with Sam, Jacob. I'll meet you there in an hour."

* * *

Jacob knocked on his old friend's office door.

"Come in," Jack called from inside. He was sitting at George's desk. "Jacob?" he asked, standing up.

"Yes, Jack. So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, Jacob…Do the Tok'ra fish? I mean, living that long, they've got to have some sort of hobby. And I'm sure they could catch all sorts of alien fish, with big fins and…wild colors or—"

Jacob interrupted his wry stalling. "Jack," he said warningly.

"Sorry." The younger man sighed. "Jacob…Sam and I are getting hitched."

Jacob gawked at him. "Hitched?" he managed.

_They're not! This man is not marrying my baby girl._

_He is a good man. A little strange, but it is obvious Samantha loves him._

Jack started reeling off synonyms. "We're getting hitched, tying the knot, getting married, jumping the broom—"

Not quite over his shock, Jacob retreated into himself and let Selmak take control. "Colonel O'Neill."

Jack blinked for a moment, before saying, "Retired."

"Jacob and I understand what you mean," the Tok'ra told him.

"I know that, I'm just sayin'."

"Saying what?" Selmak asked.

"I…Look, tell Jacob we would have told him, but you guys were away and it's not exactly easy to get in touch."

"Jacob understands this as well."

"Can I talk to him? No offense to you, of course."

"Jacob needs a minute to, as you say, 'gather his wits about him'."

"Well, _I_ wouldn't, 'cause that's a cliché and..."

Jacob took control again, "Jack."

"Jacob, haven't seen you in…_ages_," Jack said, apparently unfazed this time by the sudden change in voice.

"Jack, you and Sam have my blessing."

Jack blinked again. "Just like that? No threats, no warnings, no bodily harm?"

"I trust Sam's judgment. And I raised her to be her own person, it's her choice."

"Thank you, Jacob." Jack dropped into the general's chair, in obvious relief.

"But, Jack?" Jacob said, causing his daughter's fiancé to sit up, alert. Jacob had a feeling Jack hadn't realized he was still in the room. "If you hurt my little girl, you'll receive all those things you mentioned and much more."

"Don't worry, Jacob, if I hurt Sam, I'll beat you to it," Jack said soberly.

* * *

Jack rocked back in forth on his heels, drumming the fingers of one hand against his leg.

"Relax, Jack," Daniel said from behind him. "You've done this before."

"Oh, yeah, which is the same reason I'm never nervous before going into battle," Jack replied sarcastically as he adjusted the jacket of his dress uniform.

"Right…I get your point."

The wedding march started, and Jack's excitement rose a couple levels. Jack visualized what was happening. Sam's niece and nephew would be walking up the aisle as flower girl and ring bearer, followed by Janet, Cassie, and Sam's sister-in-law, as the maid of honor and brides maids respectively. The music changed, and Jack shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Sam would be coming down the aisle now on Jacob's arm.

He felt Jacob put Sam's hand in his. Together, Jack and Sam stood before the altar.

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here…" As the ceremony continued, Jack couldn't believe it was happening. He had never thought he would get another chance at marriage, at raising a family. After Charlie and Sara…

"Do you, Jonathan, take Samantha to be your lawfully wedded wife, and do you covenant to be true to her, to love, cherish, and protect her, in sickness and in health, in poverty or in wealth, until death do you part?" asked the Air Force chaplain who was performing the ceremony.

"Yeah, sure, you betcha," Jack said, making Sam laugh soundlessly. Then he added for clarification, "I do."

"Do you, Samantha, take Jonathan to be your lawfully wedded husband, and do you covenant to be true to him, to love, cherish, and honor him, in sickness and in health, in poverty or in wealth, until death do you part?" the chaplain continued, after clearing his throat.

"I do," Sam's voice came from Jack's right.

"You may share your vows with each other."

"Sam, you're beautiful, kind, funny, and _way_ smarter than I am. I don't deserve you. But if you want to throw away your chance at a better man, I'm not protesting. I'll always be there for you even when I don't have a clue what to do or say. I love you and nothing in the universe will change that." The ring bearer handed Jack the ring and he placed it on Sam's finger.

"I love you, Jack. I've never met anyone like you, you can make me laugh with just a glance, you're a good man and a strong person, and I feel safe when I'm with you. You've suffered a lot and I promise to be there for you. You are the only one for me." Sam slipped the other ring onto Jack's finger.

"As a minister of the gospel and by the authority invested in me by the State of Colorado, I pronounce you husband and wife. Whom therefore God hath joined together, let no man…"

"Or alien," Jack whispered, causing Sam to giggle; she stifled it as best she could.

"…put asunder," the chaplain finished, his tone wavering a little at the noise Sam was making. "You may kiss the bride."

As Jack and Sam's lips met, a familiar noise and feeling broke them apart. The sound of a crowd of people trying to be quiet was replaced by the hum of alien machinery, the echo of a large metal spaceship, and that odd whispering and clicking that always graced the inside of an Asgard vessel, telling Jack at once what had happened.

"Oy!" Jack exclaimed in exasperated frustration.

"We're on an Asgard ship," Sam said.

"Thor! You have _the_ _worst_ timing!"

"I am sorry, O'Neill," the short, gray alien's voice came from in front of them.

"You—" Jack started forward and tripped on a step, "You forgot something." The noise of the Asgard transporter sounded and Jack's cane was in his hand. He unfolded it and went toward the alien again. "We would've invited you to the reception," Jack said wryly. Sam came up behind him and took his hand.

Thor paused, "You would not have. The people of your world do not all know of our existence."

"Well, if you'd just asked, we could have had another party at the SGC. You know, invite you, the Nox…the people of Argos know how to throw one, I'm telling you…We could let Selmak out to play…You realize about a hundred civilians, with no security clearance whatsoever, just watched you transport us off the planet?" Jack added conversationally.

"Again, I apologize, O'Neill. I wished to present you with a wedding present."

"Really?" Jack's curiosity was peaked.

The transporter activated again, and Thor took Jack's larger hand in his left and placed something in it with his right. "Put that on your temple," the alien instructed.

It was roughly the size of a quarter, flat on one side and round on the other. It was metal and reminded Jack of the Tok'ra memory device, sans the sharp part. Jack placed it on his temple as he was told and, to his surprise, it stayed. Another familiar sound was heard, this time the one that accompanied Thor waving one of his rock things…

Suddenly, everything became bright. Jack squinted against the sudden light, shocked that he was seeing something. But that was nothing compared to what happened next. The light faded into a soft glow, and Jack could see Thor looking at him expectantly. Jack stared in wide-eyed wonder at the alien and his ship, the first things he had seen in six months.

Then he looked at Sam. She was standing beside him in her wedding dress; a simple, white, strapless dress that widened into a full skirt at the waist. He took in her lovely features, her sky blue eyes, the way her brow was furrowed in confusion—like he remembered it did when she had some scientific puzzle that was eluding her—and her short, blonde hair. He reached out and caressed her cheek, blinking back tears.

"Jack?" She asked questioningly.

"You're so beautiful," Jack breathed.

Sam's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. "Oh, my gosh, Jack! You can see?"

"Oh, yeah," Jack said with a broad grin.

Sam smiled back—a smile that lit up her face, the smile he had wanted to see since his capture. He pulled her toward him, kissing her and then hugging her tightly.

"I see you are happy with it," Thor said.

Jack turned toward the alien. "Ya think?" he said with another huge smile, "But I sure could have used this thing, say, six months ago."

"It was difficult to adapt the technology to human physiology. It was not ready until now."

"Ah."

"How does it work?" Sam asked, and Jack smiled again, this time at Sam's focus on the scientific.

"You would not understand the details, so I will simplify," Thor said. Jack made a "thank-you!" gesture. "The first time the device is used it scans the wearer's eyes and determines what parts of the eye are nonfunctional. It then replaces the damaged part of the eye in that function. As it is, it performs the function of your damaged retinas. If it was another part of your eyes, you would need to use two such devices," Thor explained.

"Oh," Sam said, sounding impressed, but still curious, "How does it—"

"Ah!" Jack exclaimed. "I'm sure you two geniuses have plenty to discuss, but how about we come back for another visit sometime? We have a wedding to finish."

"Oh, right," Sam said, chagrinned.

"Thanks, buddy," Jack said solemnly, shaking Thor's hand.

"You are welcome, O'Neill." Thor reached for a stone on his chair.

"Wait!" Jack held out his hand to stop him. He reached up and with a rueful glance at Sam took off the device. Everything went black again. "Better put this back where you found it." He held up his cane. It was beamed away. Jack slipped Thor's present into his pocket. He smiled at Sam. "Where were we?" He took her chin in his hand. "Energize, Mr. Scott," he said to Thor, and kissed his bride.

* * *

**Epilogue  
**  
Jack O'Neill adjusted the position of his Asgard version of Geordi LaForge's visor and put his hat back on.

"Chevron 7, locked," Sergeant Davis announced from the control room.

As the Stargate ka-whooshed to life, Jack tossed his wife a grin. It was good to be back.

Since Jack was legally blind, his commission couldn't be reactivated officially. Not wanting to lose Jack as a unit commander, the president and the joint chiefs of staff had decided to create a new position within the SGC so that Jack could continue to lead SG-1. It was a civilian position, but the president had granted him the same authority—within the SGC at least—as he had when he was a colonel. Jack would have preferred to be a member of the Air Force, but he had resigned himself to civilian life already, back when he first went blind.

"SG-1, you have a go," Hammond told them.

Jack was happily married to Samantha Carter, doing what he loved to do, and, at least while he was on base, he could see again. Life couldn't be better. Unless of course he had a couple—dozen—kids.

As Jack stepped through the event horizon, he knew that he had everything to live for.

* * *

Author's Note: There it is! Happy ever after for everybody (except the Goa'uld). I'm thinking of writing a sequel. Tell me what you think of this story and the idea for a sequel! Thanks, everyone!

**NothingProfound**


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